Know Who You Are Voting For Part 1: Moral Degeneracy in Kronenwetter Politics?
People have sent me screen shots of recent posts on the "Kronenwetter Civic Discourse" group on Facebook. The posts of interest at the moment concern the outing of one of Holly Voll's (Village President Chris Voll's wife) Facebook posts to her friends about wishing horrible deaths to various village residents (myself included). They have asked for my opinion.
For Facebook users, the posts can be seen here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1308666120100147/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
Holly Voll's initial post reads:
"It's been a long and very hard day for the Volls, ending with an unsigned letter to the editor against Chris. I am just done. There are too many horrible people in this life. Shame on all of them - Donald, Guy, Joel, Ron, Ken, Lynette, Faye, Dean, Bernie and some others. I wish them only heart attacks, car accidents, trees falling or maybe some animal tramplings. And yet I can't say or do anything. So unfair. I think I'll try voodoo. Anyone with me?!"
Her friends respond, and all seem to sympathize with her sentiment and in their conversation Holly disparages white men who they then also deride as having a "false sense of power"
Village residents called out the moral degeneracy of Holly's diatribe, but the reactions of her circle of friends/Voll supporters seems to indicate that they think it's all fine; "business as usual" so to speak.
The thing that I notice here is that there is no rational basis for this expressed hatred. She doesn't like a letter to the editor that is mildly critical of her husband who is still trying to hang on to the office of village president. So, rather than address the facts in the letter, she instead wishes death to other people simply because they are conservative minded. There seems to be no rational thinking going on here with Holly Voll, let alone recognizable moral character.
To be clear - I am not worried in the least about Miz Voll & Friends getting together and using pins to poke the eyes out of "Ken" or "Bernie" dolls. The ongoing lies and hateful discourse of the radical left have become par for the course in this village, so Holly's comments are no big surprise at all. I can't disagree with those who say that if murder was legal, the decent people of the Village would likely all be dead.
The First Point I see is the apparently utter hatefulness and hypocrisy not only of Holly Voll, but the hearty agreement of her echo-chamber support group as well. Is this normal? Is this even mentally healthy? The message here seems to be "those who disagree with us should be dead". So much for "inclusion" or "diversity", or the other virtue-signalling that many Voll supporters seem to preach but not practice.
This double standard is not unlike the situation I ran into during last year's election. That was when I called out the "Community for All" group (more Chris Voll supporters) for their advocacy of racism, intolerance, and celebrating the death of people with traditional values and holding opinions that do not agree with those of CFA.
Like Holly Voll, CFA was caught in
the red-handed hypocrisy of posting a picture promoting values that
they would condemn others for. They too, tried to lie, twist, and
manipulate their way out of owning the truth of that picture which
speaks a thousand words.
For example Trustee Kelly Coyle gave public input at the 3/25/24 Village Board meeting, speaking in defense of the CFA ideals, while he hypocritically proclaimed that I was a racist (World-Class, by the way), simply for pointing out the fact of CFA's racist message.
This time around, Holly Voll seems to be in a similar damage control mode using the same tactics of excusing her comments any which-way she can, including false accusations against the man who brought to light her disreputable post. Her efforts came complete with local trolls and politically left characters swooping in to defend her with further off-point distractions.
From my point of view, we are dealing with very wrong-headed, self-righteous people who act as if they are beyond criticism; we used to call it an "ego trip". To me, it does not matter who has had a "hard day", or if they were in a "safe space", or any other excuses. There is certainly no free speech issue here either, as no one has said she does not have the right to express herself.
I once heard free speech defined as "Everyone having the inalienable right to publicly make an ass of themselves". It appears to me that Holly Voll exercised that right very well and without interference from anyone. The content of what she said is what concerns decent people, and no matter what kind of gyrations or techniques she tries to use, she cannot un-ring that bell of her hateful (sad, really) values.
In Matthew 12:34 Jesus Christ said "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks".
A similar but more worldly quote goes something like "Adversity does not make the man, it reveals him". In my opinion it did not take much of any "adversity" at all to reveal childish self pity, and a petulant hateful heart who's first reaction is apparently to resort to occult practices and seek the harm of good people whenever she gets bummed out.
So let's clear the table of all the lame excuses; it's clear to me that Holly Voll said what she said, and she meant what she said, but is now trying to avoid the disgrace to her and Chris Voll that she has earned. In my opinion, the only "mistake" she refers to in her comments is the mistake of being caught in the act of being herself.
Second Point: In my opinion and after looking at the Voll's behavior both in her group and in Kronenwetter Civic Discussions, as well as the direction the village has gone, it would be extremely naive for anyone to think that Holly's attitude and character does not also infect, or is shared by her husband Chris Voll.
Whether he shares the hateful sentiments himself, or simply caters to his wife demands, I have no doubt whatsoever that Chris Voll reflects his wife's "them versus us" toxic attitude. I believe that this may be the basis for Chris Volls' personal politics which has in turn made a train wreck of Kronenwetter's general functionality, committee efficacy, village reputation, and financial condition. I have no doubt of it because I have seen the effects of it myself.
I believe a perfect example of hate-driven action was in August of 2021 where Holly and then Chris Voll appear to have used the office of Village President to achieve Holly's personal political mission against Trump supporters in the Village. Attached is an email where she tried to get the Village administrator to charge then Trustee Kim Tapper as a "domestic terrorist" because of his yard sign that merely said
"Watch for August. Former President Trump will run again! He will make America even better!"
Holly Voll then also identified whoever she could find that still displayed Trump campaign signs. When she was told by Village staff that those people had a First Amendment right to display these signs, Chris Voll stepped in and put pressure on staff to find some way to punish these people. The attached email shows where, as I read it,on August 3, 2021 Chris Voll knew they had no enforceable action they could take, so he tried to get the Zoning Administrator to issue citations and basically force those residents to either remove their signs, or fight for their rights in court.
Below is the thread including that email, as well as my email to the Village Board sent at that time, criticizing Voll for this behavior, and Holly Voll's efforts to define Trump signs as "domestic terrorism".
I have a timeline summarizing the chain of events in a separate post called "Volls, Trump signs, and Village Politics"
So, that is one example of the Voll's poor judgement and values. You can decide for yourself if you agree with my perception that Chris Voll was acting as a tool of his wife or was acting on his own in agreement with her beliefs.
A similar situation appears to be going on right now under Chris Voll's direction as alleged village "interim administrator", where the village issued citations for violations that don't even seem possible, but the game plan seems to be to use Village money to prosecute this resident anyway, just to make the guy have to fight his way out of a bogus citation in court.
I believe that both of these examples show clearly an abuse of the office of president, through actions by Chris Voll apparently intended to harm, slander or cause needless misery to people that either one of the Volls dislike.
The point of all this is that Kronenwetter did not get to this low point over night, and it didn't happen in a vacuum. This was a process, and the process was not driven by intelligent, fact based decisions, but by personal animosity, egotism, tribalistic personal alliances, and the worst of human faults. Unfortunately, I don't think Holly Voll's death-wishing disposition is one-off happening, but a character trait that has trickled down through Chris Voll and has been normalized in the conduct of Village business. A review of the past two years should make this obvious.
I plan on writing more blog posts in the near future, specific to various village issues. I think we will see that effective, positive leadership has been impossible with the Volls' mindset as showcased in Holly's various posts, and the failures of the Village are due to core attitude problems at the top.
Thanks,
Ken Charneski
Below is the 2021 email thread regarding Holly's anti-Trump, anti-free speech campaign Mr Downey sent out the thread, but then tried to recall it..
I highlighted in yellow some points of interest
____________________________________________________________________________
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 12:04 PM
To: Village Board <VillageBoard@kronenwetter.org>
Cc: Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org>; Harold Wolfgram <haroldwolfgram@wolfgramlegal.com>
Subject: FW: Political/election signs
All-
The Village has received several complaints on political signs within the Village. The complaints about the signs are from the past election.
I directed Randy to contact Mr. Wolfgram on the matter. I wanted everyone on the Village Board to see Mr. Wolfgram’s response if anyone were to contact you as elected officials.
Thanks all.
Richard Downey
Village Administrator
Village of Kronenwetter
1582 Kronenwetter Dr.
Kronenwetter, WI 54455
715-693-4200
715-693-4202-Fax
From: Harold Wolfgram <haroldwolfgram@wolfgramlegal.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 2:20 AM
To: Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org>
Cc: Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org>; Tracey Kolesar <traceykolesar@wolfgramlegal.com>
Subject: RE: Political/election signs
Randy
I agree that the state sign regulations are only applicable to signs visible from the “controlled highways” in Wisconsin which for the most part means “federally funded” highways. This is set up by the description of these types of highways as defined in Wis. Stat. § 84.30. I am not familiar with the specific sign complained about here, but the Trans. 201.16 requirements only apply to those signs for which permits would otherwise be required pursuant to Trans. 201.07. The requirements for a permit in Trans. 201.07 is premised on the sign being intended to be visible from a “controlled highway” as defined in the statutes. So, Trans. 201.16 does not help you regulate the signs in question unless they are intended to be visible from a “controlled highway.”
As for other regulations, the problem is that you cannot regulate any signs based on content. As you referenced Fiedorowicz v. City of Pewaukee, addressed an ordinance that mirrored the regulations contained in Trans. 201.16 and held that since the regulation applied to signs with different content differently it was invalid. This is the reason as you also pointed out that the DOT does not enforce the 45 day time period for removal.
Given the current status of the law, it is my recommendation that the Village should not try to enforce a regulation such as the one addressed in Fiedorowicz v. City of Pewaukee. Again, the regulation set out in Trans. 201.16 is almost identical to that in Fiedorowicz v. City of Pewaukee. However, there are some distinctions in that Trans. 201.16 only applies to signs within the view of a “controlled highway.” That distinction arguably does increase the safety concerns that may apply since the circumstances presented when dealing with signs visible from the highway give rise to concerns over distracted drivers. Nevertheless, I do not think it is safe to rely on that distinction. I also think that the situation you are dealing with will be especially risky in terms of litigation if it involves signs on private property placed by owners of the property.
The other really difficult issue to predict is the controversy over the recent election. While I doubt any defense that the election was not over would prevail, the current political environment is such that it raises the risk that you will be in protracted litigation over these issues. To be clear, you are not able to enforce Trans. 201.16 or a version of it without adopting something similar, and it is my opinion that regulations specific to political signs are likely not enforceable.
I have reviewed the Village Code relative to sign regulations, specifically, § 520. I did not identify any provisions that would specifically apply to political signs. If there is a regulation within that Chapter that you would like me to review to determine if it may be applicable or subject to challenge, please direct me to the section.
If you have any questions regarding this assessment, please contact me.
Harold C. Wolfgram
Attorney-at-Law
Wolfgram, Gamoke & Hutchinson, S.C.
114 West 5th Street
PO Box 1178
Marshfield, WI 54449
Email: haroldwolfgram@wolfgramlegal.com
Phone: (715) 387-1155
Fax: (715) 387-3739
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this e-mail is confidential, may be legally privileged, and is intended only for the use of the party named above. If the reader of this is not the intended recipient, you are advised that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us by telephone and destroy this e-mail.
From: Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org>
Sent: Monday, August 9, 2021 11:52 AM
To: Harold Wolfgram <haroldwolfgram@wolfgramlegal.com>
Cc: Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org>
Subject: FW: Political/election signs
Hap,
I’m once again running into issues with political signage that remains displayed within the Village.
Last week I received 4 complaints citing Trans 201.16 as a violation of signage within the Village. As these were not near any highway, I respond that there was not a violation of that rule.
You will see my exchange with President Voll below regarding the dilemma that we are in.
I also did speak with a Staff member at Eau Claire and they seem to be very much in the same position as we are. They did send out letters to property owners asking them to take down signs after the election but were careful to not include any enforcement or penalty provisions.
Could you provide me with your legal thoughts on the matter and if the Village could proceed with enforcement on our own?
Thanks,
Randy Fifrick
Community Development Director
1582 Kronenwetter Drive
Kronenwetter, WI 54455
715-693-4200 ext 113
rfifrick@kronenwetter.org
From: President Voll [mailto:presvoll@charter.net]
Sent: Friday, August 6, 2021 1:39 PM
To: Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org>
Subject: Re: Political/election signs
Oh ok, I wasn’t aware that was a state right of way item.
Some cities to review would be Eau Claire and Mequon. I guess they have some legislation about political signage.
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 4, 2021, at 12:09 PM, Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org> wrote:
Hi Chris,
Good question. The only State regulations I’m aware of are Wisconsin Administrative Code Trans 201.16, which regulates signs along state right-of-way. You will see at the bottom on that page the reference to the Fiedorowicz case and that WisDOT does not enforce the 45 day timeframe based on that. I’m not aware of the State having any general signage regulations. Sign regulation is left to local municipalities with the main thing we can regulate being obstructions created by signage. Meaning that as long as they are not blocking a vision triangle for drivers we are pretty well handcuffed.
Randy Fifrick
Community Development Director
1582 Kronenwetter Drive
Kronenwetter, WI 54455
715-693-4200 ext 113
rfifrick@kronenwetter.org
From: President Voll [mailto:presvoll@charter.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 3, 2021 2:50 PM
To: Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org>
Cc: Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org>
Subject: Re: Political/election signs
Hi Randy, Thanks for the information.
Why wouldn’t a municipality just default to the state code and be done with it? Seems like an easy out. Sue the state if you want your sign, not the local gov.
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 2, 2021, at 3:37 PM, Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org> wrote:
Hi Chris,
Political signage is complicated and although the Village and State have requirements, the Courts consistently go back to these laws being a violation of the First Amendment and the right to freedom of speech. Here’s what I was able to pull together, I apologize if some of it is repetitive.
Signage regulation has become further complicated recently with the Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155 (2015) decision. This is a case in which the United States Supreme Court clarified when municipalities may impose content-based restrictions on signage. Based on that case we had to make significant changes to our sign code. We really cannot be basing any of our sign rules on content, but at the same time if we are regulating political signage we need to read that it is political and then we are still limited.
In general, Courts (Fiedorowicz v. City of Pewaukee, No. 02–C–0830) have upheld that political signs are an expression of the First Amendment and municipalities are limited in what we can limit in terms of duration, content and the number of signs. We have received several emails in the past few year regarding profanity and vulgar language displayed in the Village. As untasteful as it is, it is protected under the first amendment and there is nothing the Village can do. Chief McHugh and Attorney Wolfgram have had multiple conversations regarding this over the last year.
We do have a requirement that temporary individual residential yard signs shall not be up for over 45 days. That being said, case law has upheld that political signs are an expression of the First Amendment and municipalities are limited in what we can limit in terms of duration, content and the number of signs. As such, the 45 day maximum has not be applied to political signage. Just because we have a regulation in place doesn’t necessarily mean that we can enforce it when it contradicts other laws or Case law. My preference would be that we eliminate all yard signs all together based on the mess they create, but we can’t stop people from expressing the right to free speech.
Thanks,
Randy Fifrick
Community Development Director
1582 Kronenwetter Drive
Kronenwetter, WI 54455
715-693-4200 ext 113
rfifrick@kronenwetter.org
From: President Voll [mailto:presvoll@charter.net]
Sent: Monday, August 2, 2021 11:08 AM
To: Randy Fifrick <rfifrick@kronenwetter.org>
Cc: Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org>
Subject: Political/election signsHi Randy,
Can you provide an answer?
Thanks.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 30, 2021, at 11:41 PM, Holly Voll wrote:
Well, that’s unfortunate.
I’d like to know why the current Wisconsin law isn’t applying to Trump political signs that are in the village right now. There is one at the Two Beers bar on a fence and there is one in a yard at the corner of Plantation and Morningside. As I’ve heard in other villages and towns, it is part of zoning and there is a letter sent to the property owners if the signs are not adhering to the laws. Explained in section (c):
(1) DEFINITIONS. "Political sign" means a sign erected for the purpose of soliciting support for or opposition to a candidate or a political party or relating to a referendum question in an election held under the laws of this state.(2) EXEMPTION. A political sign which would otherwise be subject to the permit requirement of s. Trans 201.07, is exempted if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (a) The sign does not exceed 32 square feet in surface area.(b) The sign is erected entirely on private property with the property owner's consent.(c) The sign is erected less than 45 days before the election for which it is intended and is removed within 7 days after the election except that a sign erected before a primary election may remain in place until 7 days after the next following general election if the sign solicits support for a candidate, political party or referendum question that is before the electorate in both the primary and the general election.Does Kronenwetter have a letter and a fine for such an infraction?
Now, as far as the current sign, that’s a different matter.
Thanks.
Holly Voll
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 30, 2021, at 10:51 PM, Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org> wrote:
All-
I believe that I inputted the wrong email address for Randy. I emailed Randy with Kafka granite and not Randy Fifrick. I will email Mr. Kafka and ask him to delete the email.
Randy’s email address is rfifrick@kronenwetter.org
I apologize for the mistake.
Richard Downey
Village Administrator
Village of Kronenwetter
1582 Kronenwetter Dr.
Kronenwetter, WI 54455
715-693-4200
715-693-4202-Fax
From: Holly Voll <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2021 10:33 PM
To: Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org>
Cc: Chris Voll <cvoll@kronenwetter.org>; randy@kafkagranite.com
Subject: Re: Tapper’s new signRight. The current sign is not a political sign. I believe it fits the definition of domestic terrorism.
us code 18 part 1 chapter 113b section 2331
(5)the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—
involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
This is what I’m concerned about.
I’m going to keep fighting this. It’s garbage and it needs to be stopped. But thanks.
Holly Voll
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 30, 2021, at 8:04 PM, Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org> wrote:
Holly-
The Village Board has not approved the sign itself. Hence is not him acting as a Trustee, but merely as a citizen. As we have previously discussed, the Village cannot regulate signs on content, only on other factors.
I have included Randy Fifrick in this email chain as well, as he is very knowledgeable about the sign regulations.
Have a great weekend.
Richard Downey
Village Administrator
Village of Kronenwetter
1582 Kronenwetter Dr.
Kronenwetter, WI 54455
715-693-4200
715-693-4202-Fax
From: Holly Voll xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 1:04 PM
To: Richard Downey <rdowney@kronenwetter.org>
Cc: Chris Voll <cvoll@kronenwetter.org>
Subject: Tapper’s new signRichard,
I’d really like to know how this new sign of Kim Tapper’s fits with being an elected official. Can you please let me know?
<image001.jpg>
Thanks,
Holly Voll
Photo taken today
Sent from my iPhone
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