Judge dismisses Scott County attorney's campaign complaint

Scott County Attorney Patrick Ciliberto isn't running for re-election in November. But that didn't stop him from filing an official complaint against one of the men trying to replace him.

James Terwedo, who was county attorney from 1987 to 1994, is seeking to reclaim the office this year. His opponent, Ronald Hocevar, is Ciliberto's deputy county attorney.

In a complaint filed Aug. 11, Ciliberto alleged that Terwedo violated the Fair Campaign Practices Act with a brochure saying that Hocevar and Ciliberto "benefited when the previous county attorney sued Scott County residents for a wage increase."

Ciliberto said he filed the complaint out of concern about the integrity of the campaign process.

"I was mentioned in this campaign material and my position was it wasn't a fair claim that was being made against Mr. Hocevar," he said.

Administrative Law Judge Eric Lipman dismissed the complaint on Aug. 21. Ciliberto filed a petition for reconsideration. Chief Administrative Law Judge Tammy Pust denied that appeal on Aug. 28.

Last year, a judge ruled in Ciliberto's favor after he filed a salary appeal with the Scott County Board of Commissioners. Terwedo said that spurred him to pursue his old office.

In his complaint, Ciliberto said Terwedo's campaign brochure was wrong on several counts, including some incorrect language that Terwedo said was simply a typo.

The Fair Campaign Practices Act prohibits the preparation and dissemination of defamatory campaign materials. That means falsely describing the personal or political character or acts of a candidate, knowing the statements to be false.

In her denial of Ciliberto's petition for reconsideration, Pust wrote that the law is meant to prevent false statements, not criticism.

"We stand by our piece," Terwedo said.

"I just think that there's issues out there, and we just want the public to be aware of them."