Candidate for Butler County sheriff admits to false ads

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A candidate for Butler County sheriff admitted recently in a public meeting to running false campaign ads.

Butler County Presiding Commissioner Ed Strenfel was asked by Sheriff Mark Dobbs to provide proof of statements made in commercials approved by Strenfel that lawsuits -- including a wrongful-death suit -- against the sheriff's department had cost taxpayers $500,000.

Dobbs provided the Daily American Republic with two recordings of county commission meetings, one from July 9 when he first asked for the proof, and a second from Friday, in which Strenfel admits his ads were wrong.

Strenfel was contacted by phone Tuesday regarding the untrue ads. He said he had no comment and hung up upon further questioning.

Dobbs said he felt it was necessary to discuss the false claims with the commission as a whole.

The wrongful-death suit filed against the sheriff's department happened under the watch of previous sheriff Bill Heaton, Dobbs said, adding he has never been provided with paperwork showing lawsuits against him have cost taxpayers or the county's insurance carrier the $500,000 amount claimed by Strenfel.

During the recording of the July 9 meeting, Strenfel can be heard telling Dobbs he has insurance documents to back up the claims made by his campaign ads.

Dobbs asked to see the paperwork. He said he returned July 11 and 13, but Strenfel was not present at those meetings.

The recording of Friday's meeting includes a conversation with Strenfel and commissioners Jeff Darnell and Butch Anderson.

Dobbs again asked for the documents, discussing the wrongful-death suit, and Strenfel says he was wrong about the wrongful death suit happening while Dobbs was sheriff and it was removed from the ad.

On the recording, Strenfel says it was settled while Dobbs was in office, but Dobbs says the ad did not make that distinction and that candidates have to approve the information in their campaign ads before usage.

Two lawsuits settled by the county in 2009, one concerning discriminatory employment practices and the other a civil rights suit, were settled for $200,000. The county was responsible for a $10,000 deductible for each. Both suits named Dobbs, as well as other county employees and officials.

Dobbs said false claims that he negligently caused someone's death crossed a line in a campaign that has been negative from the beginning.

"It started with phony websites, impostor attorney general opinions and all sorts of distortions, and all the while, he [claims] ethics and honesty as his campaign platform," Dobbs said.

Strenfel's campaign started with a website registered in the name "Mark Dobbs," which led users to Strenfel's campaign website. His current website has a letter it calls the "ruling from the Missouri Attorney General's office" concerning conflict of interest issues regarding a presiding commissioner running for sheriff. The letter is not a ruling from the AG's office, but is from an attorney used by the Missouri Association of Counties and quotes related statutes.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, Mo.