Watertown City Councilman takes Watertown Public Opinion to task for “obvious bias” in support of Mayoral candidate

Pat Powers

While I was doing some poking around for information on the Watertown Mayoral race in light of Rushmore PAC doing advocacy work for Mayor Steve Thorson,  I came across an interesting Facebook post from Watertown City Councilman Mike Danforth taking the local newspaper, the Watertown Public Opinion, to task for what has allegedly been a trend of bias in the race against the mayor:

WHY DID SO MANY OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND BUSINESS PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT MAYOR THORSON FEEL INTIMDATED IN SUPPORTING THE MAYOR PUBLICALLY IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY, AND THUS SUPPORTED MAYOR THORSON VIA THIS PAC?

The answer: They were afraid of retaliation, and I don’t blame them. You see, the “Power of the Pen” per se, a.k.a. the Public Opinion, has been used historically and repeatedly against those that differ from their “Opinion”, which in most cases can be translated into “Agenda”.

Now, the Hypocrisy: How does the money from this PAC, with money from local community members, differ all that much from the manner in which the Public Opinion has supported Ms. Caron in her mayoral race against Mayor Thorson, and the obvious bias from the repeated and misleading articles from Mr. Johnson? The Public Opinion is owned by out-of-state interests. Is there a bias edict coming from Corporate? I would hope the answer is NO, but I don’t know that.

So it then comes down to local people working at the Public Opinion, trying to sell newspapers, and in the process, trying to persuade our voters on how to vote. How does that differ from the local community members trying to support their candidate of choice, without being retaliated against? These people are not used to the negative, misleading, and vindictive approach Ms. Caron has used throughout her campaign, nor are they typically politically involved to this extent, so they have used one of the few tools available to them (and legal by all means). And now, today, the Public Opinion calls “Foul”.

Well maybe, just maybe, the PAC isn’t the problem. Maybe in this case, it is our own local newspaper and the “Opinions” (a.k.a. Agendas).

Read it all here.

Is the Watertown Public Opinion (or at least some of the people there) exhibiting an obvious bias? Are they being hypocritical in this case?

What are your thoughts?

36 thoughts on “Watertown City Councilman takes Watertown Public Opinion to task for “obvious bias” in support of Mayoral candidate”

  1. Good for Councilman Danforth! Thanks for speaking up against the Watertown “Public” Opinion- it’s about time someone finally let people know what crock that newspaper is!

    1. Most Newspapers are on the side of the establishment. I am surprised the Watertown Opinion strayed and stood up for the truth. I commend them for being the watchdog for the people.

  2. The only newspaper worth two bits anymore is the Rapid Journal. The rest of them are all hacks and the Journal is quickly diving down the same worm hole. What ever happened to good newspapers?

  3. I side with the Watertown Public Opinion on this one. Caron is an outsider competing against the establishment. I truly believe she is for the people, not the Rushmore PAC.

    1. Caron is a pro abortion liberal. She has utilized deception and lies to further her political agenda. So Tara you have decided to support a pro abortion democrat over a pro life republican? Sad.

      1. I thought it was a non-partisan race. Show me the facts. She comes across like an ethical person to me.

  4. Caron is a Democrat turned Independent. Politics aside, there will be hell to pay on the city council if a fired disgruntled employee becomes mayor. Look for constant fights between the mayor and the city council — and as a result, look for nothing to get done.

    1. She got fired for not going along with the establishment and their cronyism and their cutting corners. The mayor also used an unauthorized police car to drive around in because he wanted to, and to do drag racing and burnouts.

      1. Listening to the candidate forum, she sounded very credible. More reason to vote for her when you have a PAC getting there nose in it.

        1. Tara, so, you are okay with PParenthood “getting their nose” in Dem/Progressive campaigns with over $700,000 in the 2016 election. Or how about the CEO of Patagonia planning to “fight like hell” for the #Resistance. The Rushmore Pac is comprised of SDakotans supporting SDakotans who stand for the morals and values that continue to keep SD a great place.

          1. I see quite a few out of state doners giving to the Rushmore PAC. I thought this is suppose to be a local race. What does Planned parenthood have to do with the Watertown mayors race. The only Planned Parenthood is in Sioux Falls. There are no SD Drs that perform abortions. Watertown doesn’t have a planned Parenthood, do they?

            1. Tara: Could it be that some of those out-of-state donors were raised in SD and want to retire in SD? We know ppl who donate bc SD is their home and plan to return one day. Forget the PP donation reference, I’ll just shake my head and move on.

  8. Sarah Caron was falsely accusing her colleague of wrong doing, in a public place and then refusing to acknowledge that she was out of line.

    So, Tara- you want to elect someone who makes false claims against their colleagues and doesn’t have the decency to admit they were wrong?

    If you want to check the facts go to city hall and ask for a copy of the unemployment insurance ruling.

    1. Anonymous at 8:38: you asked Tara if she wants “to elect someone who makes false claims against their colleagues and doesn’t have the decency to admit they were wrong?”

      Tara is Stace Nelson’s biggest fan. We already know the answer to your question.

    2. Why doesn’t the colleague come out and set the record straight, if that is what really happened? What were the false claims Caron made against her colleague?

  9. Can you post it? Isn’t it public information? Sometimes people get fired for questioning their boss. I think it is good policy to question authority without the fear of getting fired.

    1. EXACTLY!!!!
      Tara, Watertown voted to have Steve Thorson be our leader. We elected councilmen to be our leaders. If one person is NOT going to perform as a “team member” then they are in the way of progress. Resistance in the workplace is not tolerated. If you don’t like how the boss runs things are you quit and go somewhere else. OR you can be fired for not following orders. It is not morally or ethically correct to question those in authority. Did you question and obey your parents? Do you question the law? Your minister? God? If the answer is yes to any of these you are in rebellion. Rebellion causes instability. Rebellion is what is wrong with the world today. I like Watertown’s good ole’ boy leadership. I trust it. I know we are not going to have a crap load of Muslims dumped in our downtown area, strip joints, gay parades, and porn. And you seem to have a problem with Pac money helping Steve’s campaign?? How about George Soros giving money to liberal candidates and donating to our churches to help them “identify” hate and “report” hate. Only God identifies hate, not George Soros. George Soros who pays protestors and people to spew hate. AND the Pac money is not OUT OF STATE. It is a fund donated to by good people to keep good people in office.

      1. Sandra I do not know either candidate nor do I live in H2O town but did one mayoral candidate whom you do not support state while campaigning that they plan to a “have crap load of Muslims dumped in the downtown area, strip joints, gay parades, and porn” as part of a downtown revitalization project? Was it because you believe this candidate is secretly a Democrat thus they automatically have these plans for downtown?

      2. Sandra, I respectfully have to disagree with you…..I was taught to question everything. Some of my best teachers in HS and college where the ones that engaged the students into asking questions. That’s how you learn through critical thinking and holding politicians accountable. When you remain silent is when apathy and ignorance sets in. People need to get more involved and speak out on issues. Remember, the politicians work for the taxpayers. A good boss surrounds himself with smart people. As far as my parents, we always had great conversations and lively debates. We sometimes didn’t agree on every issue but I am thankful they never tried to silence me.

      3. As far as my Minister, I questioned him all the time. That’s how I learned. We remain very good friends, even though he is now retired.

  10. Thank you lederman for supporting a good man. The SD GOP and all county parties should get involved in city council races.

  11. I don’t understand why the Public Opinion has chosen to campaign against an incumbent mayor like this. Over the years, they have always claimed to be neutral, and never even made endorsements like many papers do.

    But, for some reason, they’ve never liked Thorson. I saw a text he got from the editor once that called him names and even threw an f-bomb at him. Pretty disgraceful stuff. Maybe the new corporate ownership is forcing them to push even harder to the left.

    This election seems pretty easy to me. On one side, you have a a mayor with a pretty strong track record of success, against a disgruntled former employee who’s only reason for running is to seek revenge against the person who fired her.

  12. Ms. Caron appears to be handling herself in a professional matter. This is suppose to be a non-political race.

  13. Witch hunting seems to be the norm these days. When you have people like Caryn running all you will have is gridlock, like we have on the national level.
    Watertown has enjoyed the moral high ground for many years. I hope we don’t blow it by electing a liberal.
    Mayor Thorson is a homegrown Christian man who is serving his community and building a great place for his kids and grandkids to live.
    What is Caryn’s motivation? Revenge.

    1. It’s spelled Caron, her last name. See posts above or look at her campaign signs. Your other points seem valid.

    2. Since when is this a home boy race? It should be about principles, and policies, not popularity and politics.

  14. I have conservative friends in Watertown who are disgusted with Thorson and would never vote for him. They say he has raised taxes and spending , and is two-faced. They will vote for Caron, or the third candidate Mike “Hardhat” Davis.

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