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Kenosha County Eye

Kenosha Judicial Candidate Benefits From Dark Money

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Larisa Benitez-Morgan (D)

You may have seen a very expensive ad popping up on Facebook lately. It is asking you to vote for Larisa Benitez-Morgan. It was paid for by “Demand Justice PAC”. Just what is this PAC? We looked into it a little bit. Here is what we learned. Influence Watch is a watchdog of sorts for political action committees and other organizations. Here is what they had to say about “Demand Justice”:

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“Demand Justice PAC is affiliated with Demand Justice, a fiscally sponsored project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund that focuses on advancing liberalism in the nation’s federal court system. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is managed by Arabella Advisors, a for-profit consultancy firm in Washington, D.C. The Arabella Advisors network of organizations operates as a “dark money” conduit that allows left-of-center donors to provide funding for various left-of-center causes without having to reveal their identities or disclose their donations to specific organization. [3]

The PAC was created in October 2020 after President Donald Trump nominated now-Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett for the seat left vacant by the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. [4] In a statement to Politico, Demand Justice executive director Brian Fallon said, “We want to ensure Republicans pay a price if they move forward with this nomination before the election.” [5]

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The PAC was already planned before Justice Ginsburg’s death and Justice Barrett’s nomination, but after Justice Ginsburg passed away, Demand Justice leadership decided to hasten the creation of the PAC. The PAC is created not just to attack conservative nominees to the Supreme Court but also to encourage Democrats to “fight back harder” against right-of-center policy.”

Larisa is from out-of-state and was appointed by Governor Tony Evers (D). She was up against a long list of very capable and competent lawyers. Her resume was by far the worst in terms of experience and qualifications. Many think she was appointed because of her personal characteristics, not her merit. (LGBT, minority, and woman). Unfortunately that is the world we live in. We can’t give jobs to the best candidates anymore, we are urged to pick the person based on their characteristics that are beyond their control. Larisa is a former public defender and knows a lot about criminal law, but that is only about 1/5 of her job. There is also probate, family, civil, small claims and more. The Kenosha Judges had to change the rotation placing her in the criminal case docket to accommodate her, because of her lack of experience.

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Larisa has never been elected to this position. This is her first election. She hasn’t raised much money, but the money she has raised came from partisan PACs, like the Kenosha teachers union. We have heard from several voters that told us she won’t answer questions via email or phone.

Her opponent is Gerad Dougvillo, a lifelong Kenosha resident. His family has been here over 100 years. He is a court commissioner and has vast knowledge in every aspect of the justice system. Looking at his finances, he appears to be running a grass-roots campaign, being funded by average tax-payers. His signs are everywhere you look. We have no doubt that Gerad will make a very fair and hard-working judge. He will make decisions based on the law and not his personal political beliefs. We can’t seem to decipher what side of the spectrum he leans to, and he has endorsements from the left AND right. That is a good sign when it comes to a judge. His opponent however has made it clear. She is a radical liberal activist judge.

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Let’s give Gerad Dougvillo a chance.

Court Commissioner Gerad Dougvillo

Author

  • Kevin Mathewson

    Kevin Mathewson is a disciple of Christ, husband and a father to two wonderful children. Mathewson was born and raised in Lake County, IL and worked as a police & fire dispatcher from 2005 to 2010 in Round Lake Beach, IL. Mathewson moved to Kenosha County in 2006, later being elected to the position of Alderman of the 8th District in 2012 and 2016. Mathewson is a private investigator, security contractor, journalist, and photographer. He enjoys spending time with his family, watching movies, camping and boating. His favorite amendment is the second, followed closely by the first. He loves his country and community.

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One Response

  1. Gerad is a very good person and I have no doubts he would do an excellent job in that seat. I went to school with him and he has moved up very quickly (for good reason).

    As you mentioned, he is also impartial. He will be fair towards everyone….no political BS with him.

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