An article posted on the bulletin board at the Shawano City-County Airport referring to Barack Obama as “Kenyan-born” violates anti-politicking policies, according to officials, and should be taken down.
“Any posting like that is inappropriate,” County Board Chairman Jerry Erdmann said, “especially in a public place operated by government funds.”
The article appears to be printed from the online edition of the Sunday Standard dated June 27, 2004, and is headlined, “Kenyan-born Obama all set for US Senate.”
According to snopes.com, the story is a doctored version of an Associated Press story that originally made no reference to Kenya. A search of the web shows it first surfaced in October 2009 and has been making the rounds of some conservative political forums since then.
Obama was born in Hawaii, but some opponents argue his birth certificate is a forgery and he was born in Kenya, and therefore not eligible to be president of the U.S. The arguments have been labeled a racist reaction to the nation’s first African-American president by his supporters.
Shawano County Corporation Counsel Tony Kordus said the posting violates county policy.
“If it’s in any way something political in nature, it shouldn’t be posted at a county workplace,” Kordus said.
The article also violates city policy, Mayor Lorna Marquardt said.
“The city of Shawano does not allow political news of any kind to be placed on our bulletin boards,” she said.
City and county officials both said bulletin boards at City Hall and the county courthouse are regularly monitored and political postings have been removed in the past.
Officials learned of the airport posting late last week, but it’s unclear how long it had been there.
As recently as the Airport Commission’s July 16 meeting, the article was prominently displayed at the top of the bulletin board at the airport office.
When asked about it after the meeting, Airport Manager Clarence Schampers defended the posting.
“It’s free speech,” he said.
Schampers then denied knowing anything about the article and said anyone is free to post information on the bulletin board.
Airport Commission Chairman Larry Sperberg said after the meeting that he was unaware of the posting.
“I haven’t spent too much time looking at that bulletin board,” he said.
Sperberg would not directly answer whether he felt the posting was appropriate, but he said the airport is not promoting any political agenda.
“I didn’t say it represents my view or anyone else’s view. It’s up there,” he said. “There’s a lot of things posted up there.”
The article was still posted Monday, but was covered by a flier for Aviation Week.
The bulletin board also features several political columns by Pat Buchanan, including one just below the Obama story that calls for a greater voice for “White America” in the race debate.
County Administrative Coordinator Tom Madsen said the Obama article and other political postings should be taken down, but who has authority to do so other than airport officials was not clear.
“I don’t know who has direct authority over those guys,” he said.
Airport Commission members are appointed by the city and the county. The five-member commission includes one representative each from the County Board and Common Council.
County Supervisor Bonnie Olson, a previous representative on the commission, said there were no political postings like the Obama article on the bulletin board when she was there.
“There was nothing to that effect,” she said.
Olson said there shouldn’t be political postings on city-county property, but she would not comment on whether the Obama article was inappropriate.
“I would have to know who posted it and whether it was for political purposes or informational,” she said.
County Supervisor Gene Hoppe, another former representative to the Airport Commission, said the article has no place at a public airport and he also took issue with the article’s claim about Obama.
“He’s our president. Whether you voted for him or not, you’ve got to respect that,” he said.
Alderperson Sandy Steinke, the city’s representative to the Airport Commission, agreed.
“We have to support our president, regardless of our personal feelings,” she said.
Steinke said she had not seen the posting, but said, if it contained racial or political content, “I would suggest it should be pulled.”
Steinke said she would ask that the issue be put on the Airport Commission’s agenda for its monthly meeting in August.
Erdmann said the Airport Commission should address the matter first.
“They have to realize that it’s political and it shouldn’t be there,” he said.
Marquardt said she hoped the commission would remove the posting.
“If they fail to, the city or the county would have to act,” she said.
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