Lincoln City Council Chair Brody Weber is calling for more transparency from Good Government Lincoln as the organization restarts its petition drive for proposed charter amendments. Weber held a news conference Thursday, saying he felt compelled to raise concerns brought to him by members of the public.
He said an ongoing investigation into allegedly fraudulent petition signatures makes it especially important for voters to get clear answers before signing another petition. “In Lincoln, we believe in honesty and integrity,” Weber says. “Yet this charter amendment process circulated by Good Government Lincoln has been riddled with fraud.”
Weber says Good Government Lincoln has restarted its petition drive without addressing what he called basic questions about the previous effort. One concern involves what Weber says are misleading statements being made by some petition circulators.
He cited reports that circulators told voters the amendments would extend polling hours, even though Lincoln polls are already open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He also said circulators have claimed the amendments would prevent candidates from living outside Lincoln while running for office, something Weber said the proposed amendments do not do.
“If Good Government Lincoln believes the public is eager to vote on these proposals, why do the circulators feel the need to misrepresent them?” Weber says the second question involves the company being used to collect petition signatures.
He says Good Government Lincoln has not clearly answered whether it has rehired the same signature-gathering firm that submitted thousands of signatures now being investigated as potentially fraudulent. “Lincoln residents have the right to know if Good Government Lincoln has hired the same firm with a track record of alleged criminal conduct.”
Weber also questioned what safeguards are now in place to prevent another problem with the petition process. He says nearly 15,000 signatures were flagged as potentially fraudulent and that more than half of the signatures submitted were either fraudulent or incorrect.
Weber pointed to examples including inconsistent signatures and incorrect voter information, such as birth dates, saying he believes basic internal reviews should have identified potential problems. He also questioned the role of campaign consultant Jessica Flanagain, who Weber said has more than 30 years of experience working on campaigns and petition drives.
“We need law enforcement to investigate, not exonerate,” Weber says. His final question focused on whether Good Government Lincoln’s leadership will be fully investigated. He specifically mentioned Flanagain and petition sponsor Tony Fulton, while stressing that he was not making an accusation of wrongdoing.
Weber questioned previous public statements by Lancaster County officials that Good Government Lincoln’s leaders were blameless. “How can that even be determined before the conclusion of an investigation?” Weber asked.
He said investigators should determine what campaign officials knew, when they knew it, and whether any actions or inactions contributed to the alleged petition fraud. “Lincoln deserves transparency,” Weber says. “Lincoln deserves accountability, and Lincoln deserves a petition process that reflects integrity over incompetence or deception.”
The investigation into the allegedly fraudulent signatures remains ongoing, while Good Government Lincoln has resumed collecting signatures on its proposed charter amendments.
(Photo: KLIN’s Tom Stanton)