BY MIKE MOORE
mmoore@journaltimes.com | Posted: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 12:00 am
RACINE - An e-mail chain among some Racine County residents led to three political banners flown overhead during the Fourth Fest parade.
One aerial message stated in capital letters that Gov. Jim Doyle, state Sen. John Lehman and Rep. Cory Mason, all Democrats, "raised your taxes." Two others stated Lehman and Mason are "bad for Racine."
Some of the individuals asked the Republican Party of Racine County to sponsor the message about taxes, but the organization declined, Chairman Bill Folk said Wednesday. The law would have required the party to tack a lengthy disclaimer onto the message, and leaders weren't interested anyway, he said.
A small collection of local conservatives quickly raised the money for the three banners in an impromptu e-mail exchange, said John Willock of Racine. He wouldn't say who chipped in or if he was among them.
"We're not after these guys," he said of the officials named on the banners.
Rather than a partisan attack, Willock said a series of bad government policies including the new state budget prompted people to act. Asked about some residents' complaints to The Journal Times that the flights came during the parade, he said Independence Day is rooted in political protest.
Parade officials stressed they have no control over the skies. They try to put on a positive event that's free of campaigning, Fourth Fest President James Deibler said.
"Whether I agree with what they're trying to say or not, I don't think the timing of it is right," he said.
They do monitor the street along the route and regularly have to move those handing out campaign literature to the sidewalk, said Gary Strand, a board member who coordinates the elected officials in the parade. Organizers also changed policies in recent years to allow only sitting office holders and their immediate families to march.
"We started getting 50 people with 'Elect Me' shirts," Strand said.
Prices for airborne messages average about $350 per hour, said Inga Fox, spokeswoman for Air Signs & Banners in Racine, which flew the banners. While the company prefers to fly less controversial ads, she said it'd be wrong to turn down political ones. Fox said that could lead to discrimination complaints, and customers would simply go to a competitor.