County Executive Special Election To Be Held Today (6/7/2022), Kaufman Faces Social Media Backlash

Voters in Fond du Lac County are being urged to get out and vote today, Tuesday, June 7, 2022.

The only race on the ballot is a special election to fill the vacated Fond du Lac County Executive position after the sudden passing in March of Allen Buechel.

The person who earns the selection of County Executive will fill the seat through the current term, which is set to expire in 2025.

Currently , Sam Kaufman is the only official name on the ballot, with two challengers entering the race late, as write-in candidates.

Tiffany Brault announced her intentions as a write-in candidate last week. Brault is a Fond du Lac City Council member, as well as County Board supervisor.

Current Fond du Lac School Board Member Rick Gedemer also announced his write-in candidacy, posting a video on YouTube that expressed his intention to lead the county.

Kaufman is the current Chairman of the County Board, having been nominated for the position by outgoing Chairman Marty Farrell.

Kaufman has faced a number of challenges leading up to the special election, most notably from a social media group called “Thee Fond du Lac Underclass” who have posted nearly a dozen social media posts by Kaufman, which seem to paint Kaufman, according to Thee Fond du Lac Underclass, as an individual who “not only shares racist, sexist, transphobic memes, but then he hides them from public view.”

The group also said in their social media post “It’s time that we teach Sam Kaufman some (expletive) manners.”

An online article, shared with KFIZ, from www.wibailoutpeople.org shared many of the same posts allegedly made by Kaufman, and claims that Kaufman “scrubbed” his social media from public view but has never recanted or apologized for the posts. The article also seems to put their support behind Brault.

KFIZ News reached out to Sam Kaufman Monday, in regards to the article, but as of Tuesday morning, did not hear back from him.

You can read the article here: https://wibailoutpeople.org/2022/06/05/fond-du-lac-wi-write-in-campaign-tiffany-brault-for-county-executive/

You can find out more about each of the candidates in the County Executive Special Election below:

• Sam Kaufman-click to access the campaign website

There are also two individuals who have filed to be write-in candidates:

• Rick Gedemer-click to access his Facebook page
• Tiffany Brault -click to access her Facebook page