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By now most in the community have seen, received or heard about the flyer the Alpena County Republican Party mailed to countless county residents in the last couple of weeks. The flyer is a smear campaign against four school board candidates, Sarah Fritz, Claire Kipfmiller, Evan Carlson and Kayla Ratz. The flyer was disparaging of four of our fellow community members who decided to give of their time and personal finances to serve this community by running for a nonpartisan school board seat. And for that they were subject to nothing short of character assassination.
All of that is pretty rank stuff. Just plain mean spirited. But even more disturbing, the flyer was paid for by the Alpena County Republican Party (ACRP). The chair of the ACRP, according to the official Michigan Republican Party website, is Alpena County Administrator, Jesse Osmer. It's assumed Osmer sanctioned the distribution of the flyer, which was a full-throttle attack on four community members, citizens in the county Osmer represents. How can this be okay?
It's interesting to note the flyer pictured the four school board candidates the ACRP is endorsing, but the flyer did not offer any information or statements about the platforms these four are taking on any issue. Nothing about their experience, ideas or plans for the school board. Nothing. Just a childishly-written attack on Sarah, Claire, Evan and Kayla. And our County Administrator apparently thought that was okay.
If the official Michigan Republican Party website is incorrect and Osmer is not in a leadership position with the Alpena County Republican Party, my apologies. If Osmer is in a leadership position he owes Sarah Fritz, Claire Kipfmiller, Evan Carlson and Kayla Ratz an apology. He also owes this community an apology. What Osmer did is not okay.
Cathy Goike
Alpena