Current officials completed disclosures
Staff writer
After reporting last week that half of eight candidates for county commissioner had not declared anything on financial interest forms, the Record found current elected officials all completed the forms.
Statements of Substantive Interest forms were fully filled out by county commissioners Mike Beneke and Clarke Dirks, attorney Michelle Brown, clerk Ashley Herpich, register of deeds Shelby Schroeder, treasurer Tina Groening, and sheriff Jeff Soyez.
A notable mistake on Soyez’s March 24, 2024 filing listed his employer as wind farm operator Orstead instead of as sheriff.
“I have never worked for Orstead!” he wrote after the error was pointed out. “I placed that in the wrong box when filling out the form. Not sure why I didn’t put down my place of employment other than everyone knows I was the sheriff; I must have missed it. Thanks for catching this, much appreciated.”
Soyez receives commissions or fees as a landowner near the Orstead wind farm. The forms have a separate box for such fees.
Since last week’s report that four commissioner candidates had checked nothing to report on ownership and income boxes, Tom Britain, Dan Holub, and Amy Soyez amended theirs. Randall Eitzen did not, nor did he respond to text and email queries about his filing.
The question of what vetting — if any — these documents get is under study by county counselor Brad Jantz, who said Monday that the Record’s questions had prompted him to consult with state ethics officials.
Transparency documents are designed to give voters a full picture of who candidates are and what potential conflicts are. Listing reportable assets and income does not necessarily constitute a conflict. The information allows voters to judge for themselves.