Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since I am blocked from commenting on the Washington County Insider Facebook page, I will attempt to answer some of the accusations made by former Sheriff Schmidt in his opinion piece posted on the Washington County Insider Facebook page.

Washington County has been proactive in our response to this pandemic. We have worked closely with the Washington/Ozaukee Health Department to formulate our strategic plan to address actions that the County will take. We have assembled a team that addresses all aspects of our response to all corners of Washington County and communicate with our municipalities on a regular basis. We have advised all municipalities that Washington County stands ready to assist in any way possible, including reallocating County employees wherever needed. We are acquiring resources necessary to provide to our County partners. Per Health Department directives, we closed visitation to Samaritan and all senior care facilities have prohibited visitation to stem the spread of COVID-19. We have regularly posted on our website, Facebook page, made public statements to our local media and have converted to a virtual campus. As chairman, I made the decision to declare a public emergency which was unanimously approved by the County Board.

The Board also, in that resolution, gave the Administrator, in consultation with the Board Chairman, the authority to make real time decisions, that if necessary, are to be approved by the Executive Committee. This pandemic is causing government to react to new developments in real time, making it impossible to call an emergency meeting of the Board to discuss critical decisions that need to be made immediately.

In regards to political activity, the assertions made by Dale are inherently false. Any political activity is allowed off County premises and on personal time. The First Amendment allows for free speech, including political speech when on personal time. Using Dale's logic, he would not have been able to conduct his campaign as Sheriff when running for re-election. His assertion is erroneous, and he is well aware that his former position gives him credibility. Unfortunately, many who read his opinion piece will believe it. I cannot understand his motivation for sowing the seeds of discontent in a time that we should be uniting. I hope that someday, he can reconcile his anger and move on. He has accomplished many good things in his term as Sheriff. Causing turmoil like this is simply tarnishing his legacy.

I have been open in my support of Josh for County Executive. He simply is the best qualified candidate for the position. Simply put, his opponent is not. My job is to make sure that Washington County is in the best position to create the best environment for our citizens. No hidden agenda here. Washington County is the number one county in Wisconsin for the quality of life. I intend to keep it that way by making our government more responsive to "We the people". So if that bothers Dale, I stand accused and guilty.

Leadership Matters

Kriefall backs Schoemann for county exec

To the editor: The global pandemic of coronavirus COVID-19 has indeed taught us lessons. Now we have a wake-up call in the fight against this new virus. One day we are happily living our lives and the next day, everything changes.

The leadership evidenced by our County Administrator Josh Schoemann and the team he put together is nothing less than outstanding. His response to this pandemic has been a combination of calm, cool and collected. His planning to meet this challenge is concise and effective. The county’s incident command team has been meeting daily as the fluidity of this pandemic evolves, sometimes hourly. Often these changes are anticipated by the group and if not, the plan is modified to address each and every new development. Through it all, the one steadying influence is Josh’s calm demeanor, his willingness to utilize his team and his ability to effectively lead in a sea that seems to be getting stormier by the hour.

As a community and country, we are stronger together. This pandemic is not to be feared, but it needs to be respected. We can protect ourselves and our family by following the recommendations and protocols provided by the Centers for Disease Control. A link on the Washington County website will send you to the Health Department and further links are available to the CDC. There is good reason that I support Josh for county executive. This crisis is further evidence of his ability to lead and makes him the ideal candidate to lead this county forward, in good times, and especially during a crisis. Please cast your early ballot if you can, or on April 7, in support of Josh Schoemann and make him our first, and best Washington County executive.

Don Kriefall
Washington County Board chairman Richfield

Published in the West Bend Daily News Saturday, March 21, 2020

Seeds of Discontent

In 1965, the United Nations passed Resolution #2131, entitled the “Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of their Independence and Sovereignty”. Unfortunately, like most UN Resolutions, this has largely been ignored by many countries. Sovereign nations have used various methods to interfere with rival countries. In 2015, the United States funneled $350,000 to the “One Voice Movement” in an effort to support Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponent. Much ado has been made of Russian interference with the 2016 Presidential election. Russia used various means to cause dissent and plant misinformation, including using phishing attacks and other cyber probes. One of the phishing attacks produced a plethora of information, as Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta fell victim to the scam and exposed over 60,000 emails that eventually Wiki-Leaks released publicly. Facebook and Twitter were used by Russians posing as Americans and by posting misleading articles and links. Russia planted the seeds of discontent; the left sowed it, watered it, and produced a full crop of non-confidence in the legitimacy of our elections. The Russians got exactly what they were attempting to do, with the “Useful Idiots” of the democrat party doing most of the dirty work for them.

Members of Congress declare this oath upon taking office, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." Democrats, in their fervor of hatred towards any and everything conservative, have taken up the mantel of leftism and socialism. One of the ideas and beliefs of the democrat platform is “principled leadership”. I wonder if Nancy Pelosi was acting with principled leadership when she tore up the President’s State of the Union Address. I wonder if Senator Chuck Schumer was acting with principled leadership when he stood on the steps of the Supreme Court and threatened two sitting Justices if they vote in a manner that he disagrees with. I wonder if other democrats are acting with principled leadership when they falsely accuse President Trump of being a clear and present danger to civil society and if left unchecked will undermine democracy and destroy our nation. These hyperbolic statements are made by long time, career politicians that have caused, not resolved far too many of the issues facing this nation. Democrats are not living up to their oath to support and defend the Constitution and they also fail to abide by their own stated platform.

The branch of the democrat party, also known as the mainstream media, pushes the narrative that the Corona virus, COVID-19, will be the next Black Plague, killing all in its’ path. The democrat party, no longer the loyal opposition, uses their platform to stoke even more fear by accusing the administration of failing to properly protect the citizens. Together, and I accuse them of colluding to push this narrative, they are in the process of driving our economy into a recession. You see, getting back and maintaining their power is the utmost goal of this depraved political party. They will bulldoze anyone in their way and any and all tactics are utilized to achieve their goals, even if it destroys the US economy. As the ideals of the left are incorporated into the democrat machine, they no longer represent the citizens they have sworn to serve. They simply serve their own lust for power. The left will strive to level the playing field, driving everyone but themselves down into the misery of government control of their lives, meting out what they deem appropriate, taking the decision making away from you.

There cannot be a more clear distinction between the democrats and Republicans. Democrats want to control the decisions that the citizens should be making for themselves. The Republicans want to give the citizens the means necessary to succeed or fail of their own volition. As the left begins to dominate the democrat party, their stated goals no longer coincide with the vast majority of what the populace requires or desires. It is time to relegate the democrat party to where they belong, a minority party that has no influence on our government. It is time to elect those that serve our nation, not themselves. It is time to identify candidates with Christian values to properly represent your values and not Saul Alinsky’s.