Outside Interests Target Local Candidates

By Gordon Hopkins A last minute political advertising blitz may not be having the desired effect. Jefferson County residents have recently received postcards in the mail, opposing a candidate for County Commissioner, District 2, Danielle Schwab. The postcards indicated they were paid for by a Texas-based Political Action Committee, R.E.D. (Rural Economic Development) PAC, which focuses on property rights. R.E.D. PAC has endorsed Schwab's opponent, incumbent Gale Pohlmann. Pohlmann denied any involvement or knowledge of the mailers. In fact, he told FJN the first he knew of them was when he received one in the mail, “I have conversed with Danielle and assured her that I did not even know this group existed prior to receiving this postcard, and she accepted that, feeling too that this was out of state interests doing this. We both agreed that this campaign was going quite well and all of us were eagerly awaiting the results this coming Tuesday. We have all worked hard and honestly trying to each tell our story to the voters. It’s a shame that this had to happen.” While the card clearly states, “Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's campaign committee,” some people assume Pohlmann is behind the cards, as indicated by social media comments such as, “I didn’t think Gale would stoop so low,” and, “So Gail (sic) is that kind of politician.” Schwab responded to those comments, “we don’t think this came from any of our local candidates-this is from an outside entity trying to influence our local election.” FJN has reached out to R.E.D PAC for comment. As of press time, no response has been received.Gage County residents have also received political postcards, opposing the incumbent in the race for County Supervisor, District 2, Emily Haxby. Those postcards purport to be paid for by an organization called Nebraska Trump PAC (Political Action Committee). However, there is no PAC by that name registered with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. In addition, the postcard does not list a physical address, which is required by Nebraska statute. According to Nebraska Revised Statute 49-1474.01, “The person, except an individual or individuals acting independently utilizing their own personal resources, who pays for the production, distribution, or posting of a billboard, placard, poster, pamphlet, or other printed matter relating to a candidate or ballot question shall cause a disclaimer containing the name and street address of the person to appear on such matter.”FJN contacted Haxby, who indicated she did not know who was behind the mailers. The postcard uses an image of the 45th president, Donald J. Trump, and one of his most well-know quotes, “We need to drain the swamp!” The postcard also makes a number of claims, such as “Emily Haxby has supported many Anti-Trump policies,” and “Why is Emily Haxby taking money from Big City lobbyists?” However, no evidence of this, no specifics and no examples are provided. No contact information for the group is available to ask questions. FJN reached out to the Trump Organization and Trump election campaign to ask for a comment about the use of the presidential candidate's likeness in these mailers. As of press time, no response was received. However, former Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles W. Herbster, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, does not believe Trump would not have supported the effort to oust Haxby from the position of supervisor. So much so that he is offering a $2,000 reward for identifying the persons behind the mailers.“This is underhanded and dirty politics plain and simple. I want to put an end to this type of cowardly activity here in Nebraska,” said Herbster. “There is no such known organization as The Nebraska Trump PAC, and we need to find out who is responsible for this mailer so we can prevent this illegal behavior in the future. Nobody on the Donald J. Trump Team would ever authorize or condone the use of his name or likeness in this manner.” Herbster added, “Dirty politics have got to end. People think they can do these things and not be held accountable for their actions. Somebody knows who is behind this cowardly and illegal mailing. It was printed somewhere, stamps were purchased somewhere, it was labeled somewhere, and it was mailed somewhere. If you know anything, come get your reward.” A number of postcard recipients have called the Herbster-backed PAC, Nebraska First, asking if they were associated with Nebraska Trump PAC. FJN spoke with Rod Edwards with Nebraska First, who confirmed they are not associated with Nebraska Trump PAC in any way. “I've seen this type of activity in the past,” said Edwards. “It's hand stamped, it's hand addressed, you know, to cut back on the trail, but somebody printed this somewhere and it got put in a mailbox someplace.” Per the post mark on the postcard provided to FJN by Haxby, it was mailed from Omaha.

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