Scene: A couple of mornings ago. Before I've had enough coffee to be fully functioning.
(Phone rings.)
Me: Hello?
"Hello. This is Matt Koesters, I'm a reporter from the Cincinnati Enquirer."
Me: (dumbfounded unintelligible monosyllabic noises)
Mr. Koesters had found me through a Daily Kos diary I had written in April about the American City County Exchange (ACCE) titled In which ALEC's little brother invites me and my wife to join. He was writing an article about Charles Tassell, a city council member in Deer Park, OH who is active in the ACCE, an ALEC subsidiary aimed at pushing their influence down to the local level..
Below the fold for more.
Both I and my wife had received an email from Charles Tassell asking us to join the ACCE. (I am an elected member of the Pierce County, WI Board of Supervisors; my wife is an elected member of the River Falls, WI City Council.)
Mr. Koesters asked me a few questions, and then asked if he could use information from my diary. I agreed.
This is the result - an article in today's Enquirer: Deer Park pol pushes hyper-local Alec arm
To some in Greater Cincinnati, Charles Tassell is best known for his work with Citizens for Community Values. To others, he’s primarily known for holding a seat on the city council in Deer Park, a small East Side community.
But to elected officials of municipal and county-level governments in at least nine states, Tassell is known for recruiting them to join the American City-County Exchange.
Among those receiving invitation emails from Tassell was Michael Kahlow, a member of the Board of Supervisors in Pierce County, Wisc. Kahlow, a Democrat, said he reacted with disgust to the invitation, calling Alec a “Koch brothers cipher.” He said he worries about the influence of large corporate donors coming to small-town politics, which he called “frightening for our democracy.”
“Seeing that this is happening has kind of been a warning shot,” Kahlow told The Enquirer.
Dayum.
So. When you write here, write like you make a difference. Because you can.