KCE has heard from many folks that Ray Rowe isn’t exactly a man of integrity. For someone who was at one point, going to become a priest, he doesn’t seem to have much of a moral compass. He has after all been a liberal Democrat for decades, but is now telling folks that he is a republican in order to secure a win in the majority Republican County.
Fake Endorsement(s)
Rowe has a list of “endorsements” both on his campaign literature and on his website:
KCE began to contact these people who Rowe says “endorsed” him. The first person we contacted, Village of Paddock Lake Judge Bob Brenner told us unequivocally, “I have not endorsed anyone for public office.” It seems like Rowe has some explaining to do. This isn’t the first time Rowe has broken rules to support his campaign. We will be checking with the other “endorsements” to see which if any others are fake.
D.A.R.E. Logo
One of Rowe’s first literature pieces contained the D.A.R.E. logo. A Kenosha County Resident notified the D.A.R.E. corporate offices and they ostensibly told Rowe to remove the logo because he didn’t have permission to use it. It hasn’t been seen on his website or literature since.
Campaigning on Duty
Several allegations have come to The Sheriff’s Department and KCE about Rowe campaigning while on duty, in uniform. He even uses his tax-payer funded, county owned “D.A.R.E.” car to go back and forth to campaign events. He was written up by the Sheriff’s department on 9/10/2021 for one of these acts of misconduct, but only because there were videos and witnesses readily available. The others were ignored by the current Sheriff, David Beth (D) who is endorsing Rowe publicly.
Rowe Fires Back About “Up North” Property
We told you about Rowe obtaining a 3-acre property with cabin from an elderly lady up north in Eagle River. We have since found out that the woman is/was a nun. He bought the property from the nun and re-sold it, making more than $30,000 in profit. We asked him about it and he threatened to have this author arrested for harassment. A man who is not the Sheriff, but could be, is already threatening to silence the media with threat of police action. We took exception to this threat. The media is essential for oversight of the government and other issues. Rowe needs to put on his big-boy pants if he wants to sit in the big chair at the Sheriff’s Office. Democrats like Rowe took President Trump to task for fighting with the media. He then does the same thing his party didn’t like about Trump. We ignored Rowe’s threat and contacted him, asking him to explain this B.S. endorsement. We did not immediately hear back.
Like many other Kenosha County Residents, this author is starting to think, “What won’t Ray Rowe do to become the Sheriff?”
53 Responses
Vote anybody but Rowe, he has alot of bad baggage!!
There’s only one qualified candidate and his name is David Zoerner.!!!??????
I’m pretty sure the author is endorsing a certain candidate and will not dig up much needed negative information on that person. Just follow the theme and it’s pretty clear whom he wants for the next sheriff of Kenosha County.
Yes. The endorsements are: Cochran, Gonzales, and Zoerner in alphabetical order.
Didn’t Zoerner run as a Democrat at one point and switch parties? It’s confusing and why these are partisan offices is ridiculous anyway. What I really haven’t heard from any of these candidates is what they really would do different than Dave Beth.
Zorner ran as a Democrat strategically. He has always been and always will be a Conservative Republican. As far as what will the three Republican candidates do differently than Dave beth? Everything. For example David Beth is a liberal Democrat who opposes the Second Amendment and thought that he did a great job during the Kenosha riots. Dave Beth and Ray Rowe would be good choices for liberal democrats. Conservatives have three choices
Rhetoric but not terribly relevant. The conservative/liberal thing is more important on policy issues. And how a sheriff feels about the second amendment isn’t as important as how he or she will run a jail, investigate crimes, etc. Is this the best we can do?
Anyone has got to be better at running the jail and detention center than Beth! He has had the most turn over ever! Now the Officers downtown and at the detention center work a lot of overtime because there just aren’t enough guys. Another kick in the teeth for the Officers….he starts the new recruits at the same pay as the other officers that have been there for years! How would you like to be making the same as a newbie even though you have better training, more experience and more years on the job? I believe Zoerner has seen what’s happened at the jails and notices what is needed there. Zoerner would be a good choice.
If Ray is a liar for masquerading as a Republican Dave was also one for pretending to be and representing himself as a Democrat. True conservatives don’t buy that. I know hard conservatives who personally like and respect Bernie Sanders — not because they agree with him or that they’d vote for hm but they respect that Bernie is honest and consistent, not some chameleon.
The sheriff dept needs a lot of help. Last night at the National Night out, they had the command center. The sheriff deputy there was very proud of it. He told my elementary age child that it’s for school shootings. Great… thanks…. Plant that seed in my child’s head at a back time school event. Idiot
MKE Sheriff David Clarke also ran as a dem strategically.
One of the greatest sheriffs
ever.
Perfect point
Ray Rowe has 25 years experience? 4 years on the road a generation ago, and 21 years handing out coloring books. Give me a break.
So? This isn’t fricking Mayberry in 1950. The sheriff of a county this size is an administrator, not a street cop. The sheriff must also be able to work with various constituencies to get what the people who actually do the leg work need to get it done. Urban sheriffs who try to play Wyatt Earp usually fall flat on their asses the same as liberals like Dart in Cook County. A good sheriff has competent commanders running the various divisions in the agency and also has to manage a multimillion dollar budget. You must have been a piss poor LEO not to know this. I don’t know which one of these candidates I’ll vote for because I haven’t heard any of them discuss their qualifications for what the job really is in 2022.
Sorry for sounding so grumpy. I’m just pissed at these candidates who take our votes for granted — all parties. I want ALL of them to talk to us like adults who are interviewing for an important job, not asking to go out on a date.
Agreed. How does handing out coloring books qualify Ray Rowe?
Nowhere has he said what he’d do as sheriff. If I was sheriff I’d reconfigure that job as either being the p.r. person or else broader as a public safety education specialist.
In this venue, it appears that no one supports Gonzales. There are very smart people here. I wished I lived in Kenosha so I could vote against him.
People either like or dislike him. Like him personally but not sure he’s the right person to be the face of the sheriff’s department
No one talks about his daughters one who worked for the sheriffs dept at the jail and was fired for bringing in drugs to inmates and then living with him after. Great job being DARE officer
;-OOOOOOOOO WHAAAAAT??????
This is a lie…. I left that job because I was being harrassed by other officers and also because the forced overtime was out of control. I never lived with any criminal and the fact that you slander my name and know nothing shows exactly how much of a lowlife you and zorner are and always will be.
I am SMH at some of the choices. Rowe, for better or worse, could be Beth 2nd edition. Zoerner says he’s a “conservative Republican” and has party backing but despite the political about face he has some credentials for the job — but they are dated? Seems he and Beth have a grudge. Gonzalez may be a street cop but just not ready for prime time. What has Simmons done for us to consider him seriously. And then there’s Tyler Cochran. I listened to his video and while his experience may be less it sounds like his heart is in the right place and he’s running for the right reasons. I get the feeling he’s an honest cop, home town guy and gives a shit. Will I vote for him? Not sure — Zoerner and Rowe have more experience — but maybe they are in the past and Cochran is the future.
Kevin, have you reached out to all of those who Rowe claims as endorsements? There are a couple names that surprise me given the information that now has become public. Perhaps some endorsees may want to withdraw their support for the Rowed Apple candidate.
Believe it or not. People are not calling me back. The really bad thing about fake endorsements is that the Bell has already been rung – it’s hard to undo the damage.
Not calling you back ????
HAHA ? HAHA ? !!!!!!
Should the issue of Gonzales being involved in the Michael Bell shooting be an issue?
My point blank answer, YES
I voted early and voted for Ray!!?
I understand that integrity is a non-issue for some voters
Integrity is part of the mix and Zoerner has some issues there, too. But the real issue is who would be the best sheriff of Kenosha County? The answer is as clear as mud. As someone said, Rowe spent years handing out coloring books. Obviously he did more than that but the real beef I have is that nowhere has he done or said anything except I’m a nice guy with Dave Beth’s endorsement. Not one word about his vision of his department. Epic failure. Zoerner is pretty much in the same boat. His resume suggests he’s a decent mid-level manager but he’s turned into a political whore who doesn’t seem to have much of a clue about what the job of a sheriff does. He says the jail needs adequate staffing (a problem in many places these days) but offers not one idea at all about what that staff can do to help reduce crime. He wants to increase traffic patrols which is often a code word for revenue enhancement: policing for profit (see Racine county and Chicago). Yes, there is a need for this, but it’s a slippery slope. Good guy for mid-level management but hasn’t shown anything beyond that. Then there’s Gonzalez. Damaged goods in the public arena with minimal qualifications at best BUT some of his ideas about drug interdiction and staff development have some merit. He said more about those things than either Zoerner or Rowe. But he blew it when he says he won’t enforce laws he doesn’t think are constitutional. That’s not his call. Out. Simmons is an unknown. Decent enough guy with police experience but no real vision or grasp. And then there’s Cochran who is an anomaly. He’s worked the streets and been Officer Friendly. Like Gonzalez, he understands the need to be responsive to the people who actually do the job. His experience in years is lighter than the opposition but he also seems to be a decent guy who is seriously interested in making a difference. He is from the outside and not wedded to whatever institutional garbage exists in the sheriff’s department and doesn’t play politics. Also seems to be forward looking. His ideas about the impact of mental health — Zoerner and Rowe silent on them — are spot on. And neither of those two front runners said much about taking care of the people on the front line. That said, wish his ideas had more development. Too bad there isn’t a way to get him as sheriff, Rowe as the p.r. guy and Zoerner as the patrol commander. I also agree that DARE is popular but not terribly effective. Bottom line: none of these guys are the complete package and that’s disappointing.
Agreed
Cochran was working the national night out last night as officer friendly…(in uniform). With a pick up truck parked in plain sight with his campaign sign. He should know better.
If it was a city vehicle that’s a problem.
After what the city of Kenosha went through and what I witnessed two years ago from those in charge, one being David Beth, I wouldnt believe one word coming from that guy’s mouth.
His endorsement means NOTHING in my eyes.
Sheriff’s Department needs a massive overhaul. For such a big budget and a lot of employees it just seems to have grown and grown but not a lot of thought. The jail is a bomb waiting to explode. Actually, we have three jails. Staffing is one issue but the other is what is being done to find ways of dealing with the inmates who come in with a multitude of issues that keep them coming back.
Is the DARE car taxpayer funded? Many of them are donated but shouldn’t be used for campaigning.
Watch the video of Joel Trudell’s arrest and decide what kind of Sheriff Zoerner would be. His fellow deputies are struggling with Trudell and he sits there watching them. Only Cochran and Gonzales stepped in to assist the deputies.
And if Zoerner would have assisted, you are the kind of person that would have accused him of piling on. Trudell is a child that didnt need any more assistance.
You people are useless deplorables.
Why dont you go run in traffic with sharp scissors?
I can’t speak on behalf of Sergeant Zoerner. Trudell’s wife is a lawyer and is taking steps to sue. I know I wouldn’t want to touch that man-child and be named in a lawsuit. The Sergeant had recently had a full hip replacement. I believe he is fully healed now, but I don’t blame him for not wanting to injure himself wrestling around with an extremist nut Job
How is he capable of performing his duties as a law enforcement officer if he isn’t willing to risk injuring himself in the performance of his job? Granted, he’s not a patrol officer, but in his current position at the Sheriff’s Department or in any future position, say as a patrol Sergeant, is he NEVER going to have to put hands on someone? If that’s the case it would seem like he’s not fit for duty.
His wife is a scum bag.
Be careful when only reporting on stories that push your agenda, that makes you no better than any of the other news/media outlets that seek news stories that fit the narrative they seek to push onto anyone that will listen…
Rowe endorsed by David Beth? That’s like John Wayne Gary endorsing a Child Day Care. Rowe must be out of his mind to advertise that!
Rowe, Rowe, Rowe your boat…
Scorpio
Rowe v. Wade?
(Ducking. Couldn’t resist!)
Love the fake news. For a trump supporter, you sure like to push a false narrative. So you are saying that Rowe made $30K after owning a property for 15 years….too funny. As a LEO from outside Kenosha County this race is an absolute joke and your smear campaign is something special. I am asked why I read this crap, and I equate it to those in our profession that can’t help but rubberneck at an auto accident causing a traffic jam. Here is some advice, pull all the candidates discipline records, then report on the all. That’s what the voters need, not some agenda smear one guy article. My parents ask me who to vote for all the time, glad I don’t have to make that choice. Good luck.
If he is endorsed by David Beth you know it’s a train wreck. Just look at who Dave Beth made his Chief Deputy. The guy that was number 3 on the list? It ended up being a cluster and destroyed the moral of the Department not in a positive way. Another fine example of Beth’s poor decision making.
All great arguments to get rid of elected sheriffs
can someone add info on Zoerner’s several attempts at being foreclosed on? While the county board controls the budget, I would like to know the person with the largest budget has some financial knowledge. In addition he has or is a realtor, which again leads to can he manage money and understand fiscal responsibility?
Sgt. Zoerner was affected by the housing collapse.Tenants weren’t paying and his wife lost her job. His business managed to survive notwithstanding all of these afflictions without evicting anyone, foreclosing, or declaring bankruptcy. I think that is actually evidence of someone who is very good with finances. So to be clear, do you want me to write an article praising Zoerner for his intellect and sound judgement?
The housing market didn’t collapse in 2019 and 2020 it was booming.
Speaking of endorsements…both Rowe and Zoerner say they have it from the Deputy Sheriffs Association. True?