Two days after Alicia Williams won a recall election to replace Bill Landgraf on the DeForest Village Board of Trustees, another member of the board’s conservative coalition abruptly resigned.
At the board’s regular meeting Thursday, Rebecca Witherspoon resigned, effective immediately, citing her husband’s recent passing and her desire to focus on her family.
Witherspoon was one of four members, including Landgraf, who voted to remove fluoride from the village’s water supply in February. That vote prompted Williams to run a write-in campaign in April and a recall campaign over the summer, which ultimately led to her ousting of Landgraf this week.
Witherspoon also said in her statement that the political environment surrounding the board had taken a “troubling turn.”
“During recent campaigns, tactics used by some candidates and supporters included intimidation, harassment, and the circulation of malicious falsehoods about me, my late husband, and others,” she wrote. “These were not policy disagreements but deeply personal attacks meant to damage reputations and silence differing viewpoints.”
That environment is also what Williams cited in her campaign against Landgraf, who is also accused of harassing and intimidating opponents. He admits to calling the employer of one dental hygienist who spoke out against fluoride removal, though he later told Madison365 that he didn’t intend to intimidate her. He also admitted to Madison365 that he posed as a reporter for a “national newspaper” in order to trick another critic, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of harassment, into identifying themselves.
After winning the recall election with 78.4% of the vote to Landgraf’s 10.8%, Williams said she hoped to bring “kindness” back to local politics, and to work toward implementing a code of conduct for Village Board members.
The board adjourned immediately following Witherspoon’s resignation, which took place during the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting.
According to Wisconsin law, the board can appoint a new member to fill Witherspoon’s seat, call for a special election, or leave the seat vacant.
