Milwaukee County supervisor Logsdon says endorsement error was due to 'misunderstanding'

In the lead-up to the April 2 general election, Milwaukee County Supervisor Patti Logsdon splashed endorsements from eight local and state officials across a mailer she sent out to constituents in her southwest district.

The problem is that one of them said they never signed on to support her re-election campaign.

"This is a non-issue," Logsdon told the Journal Sentinel. "This is just a misunderstanding."

In an email to the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce last week, Franklin-Oak Creek Superintendent Dan Thielen said he had not endorsed her candidacy.

"I NEVER endorsed her for re-election in any capacity," he wrote in the email last week. "I am extremely upset that she did this and have addressed this with her. I have asked for any and all endorsements from me to be removed."

Thielen added that it has always been his practice to not endorse a political candidate in any of his official capacities.

"I have no reason to lie," Logsdon said. She said that she received an endorsement from Thielen during a South Suburban Chamber of Commerce meeting. "He endorsed me, but did not give me an official endorsement."

"I choose and select the people that I respect, and know my constituents respect. So, I put him on the list," Logsdon added.

After Logsdon's mailer went out and she learned of Thielen's email, Logsdon said she had a call with Thielen last week.

"We talked and we agreed this is a misunderstanding," she said. "While unfortunate, I won't to allow this to derail the Logsdon campaign."

Thielen declined to comment.

Endorsers listed on the flier include Republican state senators Julian Bradley and Dan Knodl; Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, Republican state Reps. Chuck Wichgers and Bob Donovan; Hales Corners Village President Dan Besson; and Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.

Bradley, Knodl, Steil, Besson and Lipski confirmed with the Journal Sentinel they had endorsed Logsdon. At the time of publication, Wichgers and Donovan didn't respond to requests to verify their endorsements.

In an ironic twist, Knodl actually ran into a similar problem in 2008.

While Knodl was running as the Republican candidate for the 24th District seat in the state Assembly, he was charged with violating state statute after making false representations affecting elections by listing individuals in a campaign flier who did not support him, including someone who was deceased.

If Knodl had been convicted of the misdemeanor, he could have been fined up to $1,000 and imprisoned up to six months.

Two months after Knodl won the Assembly seat, however, his charge was reduced to disorderly conduct. He pleaded no contest and received a fine of $250.

Logsdon's challenger for the election next week is real estate agent Danelle Kenney.

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on X @Vanessa_Swales.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: County supervisor Logsdon: endorsement error was 'misunderstanding'