Darien board member pleads guilty in flier flap
Photo 
Debi Olmstead
ELKHORN — A Darien Village Board member Tuesday morning pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to identify the sponsor of a campaign flier.
Debi Olmstead, 185 Andrea Ave., Darien, accepted a plea deal from the Walworth County District Attorney's Office. She will pay a $100 fine and court costs, according to online court records.
Olmstead distributed the fliers prior to the heated February primary. In April, she was elected to her first public office.
The district attorney's office filed a charge on April 4, just days before the general election.
The Gazette was unable to reach Olmstead for comment.
Edward Kaufenberg, 209 Washington St., Darien, complained to the Darien Police Department about Olmstead's fliers. The fliers did not identify the payment source, according to court documents.
Kaufenberg is the husband of Cheryl Kaufenberg, who also was elected to the board in April.
According to court documents, Olmstead told Darien police officer Chuck Lankford of the Darien Police Department she had passed out 100 fliers in February.
She said she was not aware at the time of the law that requires the fliers to state who paid for them. She said it would never happen again, according to court documents.
Olmstead told the Gazette she learned about the rules for fliers, posters and banners in early March when she and others worked on their campaigns for the general election.
The charge against Olmstead was not criminal. The maximum fine was $500.
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Jun 22, 2009 at 12:30 p.m.
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did anyone ask mrs. olmstead how many complaints she put on the kaufenberg's. there is more than a couple. people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. everyone has made mistakes, get on with it; the majority group blogging on here is actually a small number and you are making no impact on what people actually believe. some of our officers who have sworn to uphold the law and protect us citizens have broken their oath. i am sickened at how people have begun to believe their own lies. our previous administration was terrible but they did attempt to get the business done, not all parties are perfect. the current administration has problems including our vp who seems to have the same god complex that the past vp had. no one is perfect and no one has to agree with what others believe. if you follow the evidence on all the bs that is going on you will see that there is more wrong than what people actually think. for those that think that people were conspiring to get rid of people, did you ever think that maybe the accused actually did do something wrong. i use the word "think" loosely as i already know the answer to my question.
Jun 18, 2009 at 6:15 p.m.
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What's the old saying about small towns?
Jun 18, 2009 at 3:46 p.m.
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Well, it was a rookie mistake (and in my experience these are pretty common), but it was appropriate to plead guilty and pay the fine, just as with a parking or jaywalking ticket. The Kaufenbergs are as entitled as any citizen to complain about a violation of campaign laws.
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