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Portage County commissioners say sheriff does not speak for them

Vaseline September 20, 2024

The Portage County Board of Commissioners issued a statement during their meeting Thursday letting the public know that Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski does not speak for them.

Zuchowski gained national attention with a Facebook post encouraging people to write down the addresses of yards with Kamala Harris signs so he could keep a list of places to send illegal immigrants, whom he called “locusts.”

Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett read the statement during Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting. She said the commissioners wanted to respond to recent events sparked by the post, which she said was made on the sheriff’s “personal Facebook account.”

Christian-Bennett said the commissioners’ office has received many calls from Portage County residents, as well as others around the state and country, about the post.

Zuchowski, she noted, is an elected official and not under the “direct authority” of the commissioners.

“The personal opinions of Sheriff Zuchowski do not reflect the views of the Portage County Board of Commissioners, nor of Portage County as a whole,” she said.

Zuchowski’s post has been removed from his personal Facebook page, but it remained on his Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski page as of Thursday. He also posted, on both Facebook pages, a response to criticism he has received since he originally posted, saying his comments had been “misinterpreted” and that the post fell within his First Amendment rights.

Earlier this week, Tony Badalamenti, a Republican who is chairman of the board of commissioners, released a statement saying he was resigning from the Republican Central Committee after publicly disagreeing with Zuchowski’s post. There was talk of censure or removal from the committee as a result.

Badalmenti had sought re-election but lost the Republican primary to Jill Crawford, who is backing Zuchowski. Crawford and Carmen Laudato, a Democrat, are vying for Badalmenti’s seat in November.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or [email protected].