State Rep. Barb Dittrich of Oconomowoc is expressing disappointment in Oconomowoc mayoral candidate Karen Spiegelberg, and Dittrich has endorsed Alderman Matt Rosek in the race. The election is on April 7.
In response, Spiegelberg criticized Rosek, the more reliably conservative candidate in the race, for taking donations from the Republican Party. In addition to Dittrich, Rosek is endorsed by top county officials like Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow and District Attorney Lesli Boese, as well as various Oconomowoc school board members and aldermen.
“I’m SO disappointed in how ugly this Oconomowoc mayoral race has become. A constituent contacted me in the past few hours stating that Karen Spiegelberg was canvassing their neighborhood telling people that 1) she was originally endorsed by WisRed when she first ran for Alderman and; 2) her opponent is taking money from developers to fund his campaign,” Dittrich wrote on Facebook.
barb dittrich
karen spiegelberg
“𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘! 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆’𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲,” Dittrich a Republican, added.
“You may recall, I made my endorsement a number of weeks ago, and frankly, it was exactly because of dishonesty I saw breaking through in things like this. If we can trust our leaders with the small things, if they will say anything just to appease, how can we trust with the issues that really matter?” added Dittrich.
“YOU HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY TO EARLY ABSENTEE VOTE! Get out there and vote for Judge Maria Lazar, Matt Rosek, April Welch for Oconomowoc Alderman District 1, and Zachary Frankowski for Common Council District 3 in Oconomowoc,” she added.
Rosek is the candidate supported by the Waukesha County GOP and its WisRed initiative. (See the full Waukesha County GOP/WisRed voter guide for the April 7 election here.)
WRN reached out to Spiegelberg for comment. She responded:
“I have enjoyed civil conversations with folks all along the way of this campaign. I had an interaction with a resident on Sunday which resulted in her mentioning WisRed and their endorsed candidate, Mr. Rosek whom she supported. We then had a conversation about endorsements and support to which I mentioned to her that I had been endorsed by WisRed in the past (not when I first ran as they did not exist in 2018). She also mentioned that she heard I was taking endorsements from the Democrat Party to which I mentioned that I declined endorsements from either political party and that I am self-funding my campaign so as to not be beholden to any political party or developer. Mr. Rosek has unfortunately taken campaign donations and in-kind donations from the Republican Party and from two Oconomowoc developers and those are substantiated on his campaign finance reports. I continue with my message of ‘People over Politics’ to represent everyone in Oconomowoc and not just one political party because we get things done when we all come together as a community.”
Some liberal activists in the Oconomowoc area have made their support for Spiegelberg/opposition to Rosek known, however.
As we previously noted, Spiegelberg voiced support in the past for a wheel tax. She also scolded a downtown Oconomowoc business for posting a Rosek sign.
