Sheboygan Police Department Link Update

Today, the Sheboygan Press Editorial Board weighed in on the controversy involving Jeni Reisinger, Mayor Juan Perez, City Attorney Steve McLean, and the Sheboygan Police Department.

The Board writes:

Sheboygan Mayor Juan Perez and City Attorney Steve McLean have much better things to do than spend time writing and sending threatening letters to a persistent mayoral critic.

Not only that, but the attempt by Perez to have Jeni Reisinger remove a link to the Sheboygan Police Department on one of the Web sites she maintains smacks of an attempt to stifle her First Amendment rights. McLean, apparently at Perez's request, sent Reisinger a cease-and-desist letter demanding that she remove the Police Department link, "until such time as the city were to authorize such a link."

But there was nothing political about the link and nothing embarrassing to the city.

This appears to be an effort to perhaps get back at someone who has criticized him. Reisinger, after all, was among those who supported a failed attempt to recall Perez in 2006 and has said Perez doesn't support the Police Department.

It's baffling that Perez and McLean would demand that the link be removed, without first fully investigating whether there is any legal grounds for their demand. They had to know that this action would create a firestorm of controversy. The story was picked up statewide and even nationally, including in USA Today.

It was ludicrous for the city to send an official letter making a demand upon a citizen, on the assumption that the demand was enforceable.

...There should have been more research and thought before a letter was sent that could involve a legal challenge in which the the city could become embroiled.

And, how many other Web sites link to the Sheboygan police site? Have the Web site hosts all received permission to do so? Not likely.

Many other sites do link to the Sheboygan Police Department.

Like mine--



I haven't received any threatening notification from the Sheboygan City Attorney to remove my links. No one from the Sheboygan Police Department has contacted me.

Of course, I haven't spearheaded an effort to recall Mayor Juan Perez. I haven't been critical of Mayor Perez, until now. That might have something to do with it. Just a guess.

At the time this editorial was written, the Board may not have realized how prophetic it would be when it suggested that there could be "a legal challenge in which the the city could become embroiled." Perhaps the Board was already aware that this story wasn't going to go away.

There is going to be a legal challenge and I'm glad.

Letter to Police Chief David Kirk

Letter to City Attorney Steve McLean

Letter to Mayor Juan Perez

It's quite simple.

"No legal basis exists" to demand that Jeni remove the link on her website to the Sheboygan PD.

It's not OK for officials to abuse the authority of government and public agencies to harass a private citizen.

Pursuant to the Wisconsin Open Records Law, Attorney Paul Bucher is requesting "copies of any and all documentation, correspondence, emails, recordings and any other types of communication, in whatever format, that may exist relative to Ms. Reisinger and/or the directive issued to Ms. Reisinger to remove any link on her website to the City of Sheboygan Police Department."

Well, now we'll get to the bottom of this. This should be quite enlightening for the citizens of Sheboygan, as well as the residents of Wisconsin.

This is a national story now. I'm sure many Americans will be interested to know what's been happening in Sheboygan.