GOP politicians might want to take note of Sheriff David
Clarke’s sneaky way around public accountability. It doesn't sound legal, but then, pushing the constitutional limits on what Republicans can or cannot do is standard operating procedure.
All you have to do is keep a “personal calendar,” not
an official office calendar. That pretty much takes care of that, doesn't it.
You're right to know where your tax dollars are going have its limits. So whatever wacky Sheriff Clarke
wants to do, he can.
jsonline-Dan Bice: If you want to know where Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. was the week of the Sikh temple shooting in August 2012, don't try to find out from his official calendar. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now requested that document recently, but what it got in return contained little information. Eighteen of the 22 events on the calendar for that week had been redacted.
"The Sheriff's schedule is a personal document . . . prepared by him, for his convenience, or by his executive assistant," Inspector Edward Bailey wrote on July 23. "It is not a document disseminated through the Office of the Sheriff." By comparison, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has released his complete calendar to No Quarter in the past.
The smoke and mirrors answer by a Clarke representative
tries to shift attention away from the public’s right to know the schedule of
their elected officials:
Chris Haworth, a Clarke campaign adviser, accused One Wisconsin Now of exploiting the mass shooting for political purposes. "These are silly games that partisan political hacks engage in at election time," Haworth said.
But why wasn't Sheriff Clarke around during the Sikh Temple
shooting? That question has not been answered. Any answer at this point would
be insufficient, given the secrecy and intentional delaying tactic by Clarke:
In July, Clarke's staff told reporters that the sheriff was at "homeland security training" in California when Deputy Sergio Aleman was killed in a two-vehicle crash on I-43. The publicity-seeking sheriff was also not a presence during the day of the shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek in August. "I don’t remember seeing him, but couldn’t say for sure (Clarke was absent)," Oak Creek Mayor Stephen Scaffidi told No Quarter via email. "I know Sheriff’s office had a huge presence that day, though."
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