Ken MacDonald, owner of Cedar Creek Carpet in Sturgeon Bay, says reports that he used a corporation to buy ads supporting candidates for city council and mayor are “fake news reported by a left-wing radio station by a reporter too lazy to actually check facts.”
In a Face Book post yesterday, MacDonald denied having his corporation pay for advertising yet the political advertising agreement posted on the WDOR FCC public file clearly lists “Cedar Creek Carpet” as the client.
DoorCountyDailyNews.com President and CEO Roger Utnehmer responded to MacDonald in a post you can read with this story on our website. Utnehmer called on MacDonald to amend his social media comments and “come clean” on other political advertising he says he purchased in the past.
There is no room for dark money in Door County politics, Utnehmer said.
See political advertising agreement here
Comment from Roger Utnehmer in response to Ken MacDonald from Facebook:
Roger Utnehmer The political advertising agreement posted on the FCC public file for WDOR clearly is titled “Cedar Creek Carpet. Mr MacDonald denies having Cedar Creek Carpet pay for the ads but the public disclosure on WDOR refutes MacDonald’s false claim and indicates the story on DoorCountyDailyNews.com is, in fact, accurate. You can simply google “WDOR FCC Public File and it will take you to the agreement between Cedar Creek Carpet and WDOR. Click on the icon for non-candidate expenditures and you will find the order placed by Ken MacDonald under the name of his corporation, Cedar Creek Carpet. So much, Ken, for “fake news” and “lazy reporting.” DoorCountyDailyNews.com is proud to inform people about the sources of money for political advertising and the use of a corporation being listed on an FCC political expenditure report for what appears to be the first time in the history of local elections in Sturgeon Bay. The source of campaign expenditures is and will continue to be news in order to inform the public about the influence of money, and now corporate money, in local politics. Mr MacDonald apparently does not know that a paper trail exists for political advertising on radio stations. That paper trail proves him to be less than truthful in his denial of using corporate money to support the candidates of his choice. There is no reason to misrepresent the source of his political advertising expenditure in Ken MacDonald’s earlier Face Book post because both personal and corporate spending are permitted under law. The use of corporate financing as in this case with these ads is simply of news value because it has not been, at least legally, done before. Mr. MacDonald says in his interview (audio at DoorCountyDailyNews.com) that he’s done it before and nobody ever questioned it. That prompts the question about whether his spending was properly reported as required by the FCC or if Cedar Creek Carpet just bought ads without reporting as required. That’s dark money in local politics. I suggest Ken MacDonald amend his comments and come clean about previous donations from his corporation.
