Last month, a Kenosha Judge ordered a former Kenosha County Board Member Andy Berg (D) to make available for inspection a large amount of county park maps and business cards that he was illegally distributing during his Spring 2024 election. Judge Frank Gagliardi also ordered Berg to pay Mathewson’s legal fees, in the amount of $309.50 – neither have happened.

Berg’s deadline was May 11, 2024. Mathewson contacted Berg via his attorney. Berg still wouldn’t provide the records or pay the court-ordered fees. On May 15, 2024, Mathewson filed a motion for contempt, asking the judge to intervene and find Berg in contempt.

Judge Gagliardi is scheduled to hear the contempt motion on June 11, 2024 at 10am.

Kenosha County Eye Editor Kevin Mathewson filed the lawsuit on March 11, 2024. Mathewson filed the action in Kenosha County Circuit Court four days after Berg denied a request by Mathewson under Wisconsin’s Public Records Laws to inspect copies of maps that Berg handed out illegally during his campaign for re-election. Kenosha County government attorney Joey Cardamone told Berg he could deny the case citing a case that involved the destruction of copies of records. Cardamone, however, didn’t defend his bad legal advice. The Wisconsin ACLU President William Sulton represented Berg on a pro-bono basis.

Berg, a long-time Kenosha County Board member, knows the campaign finance laws well. In fact, when he submitted paperwork for re-election, he was given a packet called “Candidate Guidelines – Spring Elections 2024.” County Clerk Regi Waligora sent all candidates running for re-election this guide as a courtesy. On the top of page four, it displays the following:

Use Of Government Materials By Candidate:

According to Wisconsin State Statute, section 11.1205, candidates who are running for re-election, may not use public funds for the cost of materials or distribution for 50 or more pieces of substantially identical materials distributed after the first day authorized by law for circulation of nomination papers as a candidate.

KCE discovered via public records requests that on February 2, 2024, Berg sent an email to a county employee demanding 1,000 County Maps that were printed with taxpayer funds. Berg also had county business cards printed – again at taxpayer expense. The county employee only gave Berg 600 maps. He then began to hand out several hundred maps and business cards, in clear violation of election law. He was so brazen, that he actually posted on Facebook what he was doing.

After being alerted to the violation, County Clerk Waligora issued a warning to Berg on February 19, the same day as his Facebook post, saying:

“This is a reminder that included in the folder for Spring Candidates you received information regarding the use of government materials while campaigning. You may not use materials (no more than 50) that are paid for with County funds while canvassing your district during the election cycle that began on December 1, 2023, and will end April 3, 2024. If you have done this and have distributed more than 50 pieces of County funded material, you will need to cease the use of these materials while campaigning in your district.”

Mathewson filed complaints against Berg to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission and the Kenosha County DA’s office. The WEC said in a statement “Commission staff has conducted a preliminary review of your complaint as required by Wis. Admin. Code ETH 21.03(2) and determined that your complaint is sufficient to proceed to consideration by the Commission.” Mathewson believes Berg was withholding the records, even after a court order to help with his ethics commission complaint that was likely to have happened this past Tuesday, May 15, 2024, but will now likely happen on July 23, 2024. Kenosha DA Graveley (D) refused to take action against Berg. Graveley could have petitioned the same court to ask a judge to force Berg to turn over the records, but he refused. In Graveley’s decades-long career, he’s never prosecuted a public records violation case. Under Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1)(a), Graveley is the enforcing officer for public records disputes. KCE has won two public records cases against DA Graveley.

The Milwaukee County DA’s office has been appointed as a special prosecutor to see if Berg did in fact violate campaign laws. His office said last week that the matter was “still under review.” The Milwaukee County DA is also considering felony charges against Berg for theft, as recommended by Kenosha Police Detectives.

KCE initiated a public records request to Berg asking to inspect the remaining maps that he had in his possession. If he has less than 550 maps, he has clearly violated the law. He ignored our request unlawfully. After many reminders, Berg sent us a photo of the maps, claiming he had 164 maps left, meaning that he handed out 436 maps – 386 too many.

We can’t know for sure unless we inspect them. Remember, KCE didn’t ask for photos of the maps, we wanted to inspect them physically. Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(a) and (b) provide that “any requester has a right to inspect any record” and “to make or receive a copy of a record.”

KCE believes that Berg’s denial was an attempt to conceal evidence of his violations of state statute, campaign laws, and local ordinances.

Berg has also come under scrutinity for producing homo-sexual porn as his pseudenym “Sergeant Hard” which seems to align with his position as Sergeant with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Berg also has arrests and convictions for OWI and drugs. Berg recently lost his county board seat on April 2, 2024.

When asked for comment, Berg had the following to say:

“The court system is large kiddo.  There are follow-through options available.  Don’t worry Mr. Blogger.   We shall see each other in court soon enough. You’re funny.  Funny like a clown.  You’ve been called that many times I am sure.    Goodnight Kevy.   Don’t continue to harass and terrorize those you keep copying into these emails. And be careful. I know you have sustained some head damage recently.”

Berg was referring to Mathewson’s recent Melanoma diagnosis on his scalp. Fortunately for Mathewson, it was caught early. Although Berg and Joel Trudell have expressed a desire for Mathewson to succumb from the cancer, he is happily in remission. “Although people like Berg and Trudell, who are bad human beings that do bad things every day, I would never wish death upon them. For them to wish death upon me is unsettling, but not surprising. I wanted to keep this fact private, but Berg and his cohort Trudell have been shouting my health information from the mountains. They’ll be sad to hear, however, that my surgeon says I’m going to live,” said Mathewson. “I’m not going anywhere.”