(Facebook.com)
SALEM LAKES, Wis. — A private Facebook group packed with Salem Lakes elected officials and other prominent government figures was created by James Beinecke and his wife, Margaret Beinecke, two well-known local internet trolls who routinely ridicule people with whom they disagree online. James Beinecke, whom Kenosha County Eye previously profiled in January as part of its “Internet Troll” series, started the private “Salem Lakes Community Voice” group to encourage “shit-talking.” The page has since grown to approximately 234 members and still includes a majority of the Salem Lakes Village Board. Four of the six current Village Board members are in the group, including Village President Rita Bucur and Trustees Angela Brooks, James Woodke and Dennis Faber. Before Trustee Amanda Procknow resigned, five of the seven Village Board members were members of the private group.
Unlike a public community Facebook page, Salem Lakes Community Voice is closed to public viewing. Residents can find the group, but they cannot see its posts, comments or discussions unless the Beineckes allow them inside. Prospective members must request admission, answer screening questions and wait for approval. Numerous Salem Lakes residents have told Kenosha County Eye they have been denied access, meaning conversations involving a majority of their Village Board are occurring in an online forum they cannot even see.
(Facebook.com)
Kenosha County Eye has obtained conversations from inside the private group, and some of those conversations involve issues that are, or have been, matters before the Salem Lakes Village Board, including agendized matters. Since late February, members of the group have been leaking conversations to KCE and have archived the group’s entire contents for KCE to review. The combination of a majority of the Village Board being inside the private group, discussions about Village business and residents being denied access is now raising questions about whether activity inside Salem Lakes Community Voice could run afoul of Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law.
Who Is Inside The Private Group?
The membership list obtained by KCE includes elected officials, judges, current and former government officials, political candidates and members of Village boards and commissions. Membership alone does not mean that a person participated in any particular discussion. Among the notable members are:
- Rita Bucur, Village President, Village of Salem Lakes
- Dennis Faber, Trustee, Village of Salem Lakes
- Angela Brooks, Trustee, Village of Salem Lakes
- James Woodke, Trustee, Village of Salem Lakes
- Bill Hopkins, former Salem Lakes Trustee and current Fire Commission President
- Amanda Procknow, former Trustee, Village of Salem Lakes
- Patrick Dunn, Municipal Judge, Village of Salem Lakes
- Sara Marie Spencer, Village Clerk
- Samantha Kerkman, Kenosha County Executive
- Jodi Meier, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge
- Erin Decker, Kenosha County Board member
- Ellen Schutt-Sneate, candidate, Senate District 11
- Mitch Pedersen, Kenosha City Plan Commissioner and former Alderman
- Sharon Pomaville, former Kenosha County Board member and Salem Lakes EDC member
- Kim Bickett Breunig, former Kenosha County Board Chairman and former Salem Lakes Plan Commission member
- Mike Murdock, former Salem Lakes Administrator
- Allen Thennes, former Fire Commission President
- Don Epping, Kenosha County Fair Executive Board member
- Patty Schmidt Hintzman, Library Board member
- Doug Randolph, former Parks Commission President
- Dean Hintzman, Parks Board member
- Theodore B. Kmiec III, former Salem Lakes Trustee and embattled attorney
- Margaret Beinecke, administrator of Salem Lakes Community Voice and internet troll
- James Beinecke, creator and administrator of Salem Lakes Community Voice and internet troll
The larger membership list obtained by KCE contains more than 200 additional names, overwhelmingly private citizens whom KCE is not identifying. The full list confirms the presence of many of the officials and other notable figures listed above.
Residents Say The Beineckes Won’t Let Them In
The Facebook group is visible, but what happens inside is not. The Beineckes ultimately decide who gets through the virtual front door. Prospective members are asked why they want to join the group, whether they believe there is ever a reason to bully a person or group and even to identify the local grocery store.
One of the group’s own rules is particularly noteworthy considering that a majority of the Salem Lakes Village Board is inside: “What happens here, stays here.”
Numerous residents have told KCE they have attempted to join Salem Lakes Community Voice and have been denied admission. Several of those residents have told KCE they are considering filing complaints with the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office alleging violations of Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law.
That creates an unusual situation in Salem Lakes. Some residents are permitted into a privately controlled online forum where a majority of their Village Board is present and Village business is discussed, while other residents are excluded entirely from seeing those same conversations.
Could The Private Group Run Afoul Of Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law?
Kenosha County Eye believes Salem Lakes Community Voice and related private chats involving Village officials raise serious questions under Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law. Four of the six current Village Board members are in the group, and before Amanda Procknow’s resignation, five of seven were members.
The issue isn’t simply membership. KCE has obtained communications involving Village matters, including issues that are or have been agendized for Village Board consideration, as well as discussions criticizing residents based on whom they supported in Village matters. Some statements are also alleged to be false and defamatory.
If Village business, Board positions or support for particular individuals was discussed or coordinated privately, those communications could raise Open Meetings Law concerns, including a possible “walking quorum.” Wisconsin DOJ says electronic communications can qualify as a convening of governmental-body members, and a walking quorum can occur through a series of communications when members agree, explicitly or tacitly, to act uniformly in sufficient numbers.
Village Clerk Sara Spencer’s early participation also raises questions because she serves as the Village’s official clerk and records custodian. KCE believes investigators should determine which officials participated, what Village business was discussed, whether positions or consensus were coordinated and whether residents were excluded based on viewpoint.
All posts, messages, comments and reactions should be preserved. KCE believes the circumstances warrant a serious investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and Attorney General’s Office for potential Open Meetings Law violations. Wisconsin law requires governmental-body meetings that fall under the law to be publicly noticed and held in open session unless an exception applies.
Separate Legal Action Being Considered Against Beinecke And Others
The potential Open Meetings Law controversy isn’t the only legal issue brewing around Salem Lakes Community Voice.
People who says they were targeted by James Beinecke and others inside the private group have retained an attorney and is considering legal action over statements they contend are false and defamatory. Because those statements were allegedly published inside a private group with approximately 234 members, many, if not all, of those members could potentially become witnesses regarding what was posted, who saw it and how the discussions unfolded.
One Response
Not Salem Lakes, NO, not possible.