Cudahy School Board candidate apologizes for Facebook post equating elections to World War II
A Cudahy School Board candidate and current city of Cudahy alderman has apologized for a Facebook post comparing elections for the Cudahy School Board and Cudahy Common Council to World War II.
Randy Hollenbeck made a post in the private Cudahy Citizen's Forum Facebook group Feb. 21 that said, in part: "This Cudahy Spring Election, just as the Americans during World War II had to fight two adversaries on two different fronts, the Germans and the Japanese, I will be fighting on two fronts as well with the School Board election (Ellen, Lissa, and Michael all basically are the same) and for District 3 Alderman election (Rob Haines (once a friend and major supporter of mine)). Yes I am saying I am the Americans and you can pick which one each of the others are!"
Regarding the school board election, Hollenbeck was referring to Cudahy School Board candidates Ellen Price, Lissa Skoglund and incumbent Cudahy School Board member Michael Johnson.
Also in his Facebook post, Hollenbeck criticized his opponent for the city's aldermanic District 3 seat, Robert Haines, for not answering a question about why Haines decided to run against him.
In a different Facebook post in the Cudahy Citizen's Forum, on Feb. 23, Hollenbeck apologized for his previous post, which has since been taken down.
"A recent post I made on the Cudahy Citizen Forum regarding that I am fighting on two fronts just like the Americans did during World War 2 may have been misinterpreted. I, just like the Americans, plan on being victorious on both fronts and that was what I was stating when I said I was the Americans in my post. I would like to clarify that I am fighting for our kids and all the taxpayers in two elections at the same time. On one front, a fight for the School Board seat and on the other front a fight for an Aldermanic seat. I am truly sorry to anyone that misunderstood what I was trying to say and I am sorry that what I said caused anyone to feel that I was expressing hate speech. I have asked the administrator of that site to remove the post as I do not want anyone to misinterpret anything further into it," Hollenbeck wrote in that post.
Some Cudahy residents and parents shared emails with the Journal Sentinel that they had sent to the Cudahy School Board criticizing Hollenbeck's post.
One of those residents, Katy Casleton, a parent in the Cudahy School District, said in her email to the board that Hollenbeck's references of the candidates as Germany and Japan were insinuating the candidates are Nazis, calling it "absolutely disgusting and "(borderline) hate speech." She also said board members who support Hollenbeck are "showing support for this type of divisive and hateful conversation."
Another parent, Abigail, asked that her last name not be included in this report because of safety concerns. She also criticized Hollenbeck's comments in her email to the board, and said she was "ashamed for the current board members that are currently supporting this potential candidate." She did not name who those current board members were and said those supporting Hollenbeck should reconsider their positions.
"If this type of speech continues for this potential candidate and you continue to support him, I will work with other concerned members of our community to have you recalled. The majority of the voters in the primary have spoken towards a different type of leadership — one that puts the children first, and I would hope that the rest of the board would support a vision that supports our community, students and staff and prohibit hate speech," Abigail wrote.
Hollenbeck responds, board candidates, aldermanic opponent react
In a Feb. 23 phone interview before his post was taken down, Hollenbeck said he never used the word "Nazis" or insinuated the candidates were Nazis.
"That has never been stated. What is stated and implied is I'm fighting on two different fronts (school board and common council), two different beachheads just like World War II. That is 100% what I stated. Anything else is someone else's imagination of what's going on," Hollenbeck said.
Hollenbeck said he didn't think anyone would interpret his comment to mean he was calling the other candidates Nazis.
"I'm fighting on two beachfronts. This is a first for Cudahy that someone is running for two positions at the same time," Hollenbeck said.
Johnson called Hollenbeck's post "very childish" and said "it doesn't really help how we talk to each other."
"There's just so much divide in our society as a whole and even within Cudahy and over a school board seat, it should not be that extreme," Johnson said in a Feb. 23 phone interview.
Skoglund said Hollenbeck's post is "a really inaccurate comparison."
"I’m running for school board because I believe all kids in Cudahy deserve a high quality, diverse education in a safe environment. As a High School teacher for over 20 years, I believe there is great value in building community rather than dividing it with such rhetoric. I hope all citizens and families with students in the district vote on April 2nd to help us move forward together!" Skoglund said in an email to a reporter.
Calls and emails left with Price were not immediately returned.
Haines said in an email to a reporter he didn't have any comment on Hollenbeck's post, saying he "will let the Great Citizens of the 3rd District and The City of Cudahy decide who they want to represent them in the 3rd District and School Board."
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cudahy School Board candidate apologizes for Facebook post
