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WOOD RIVER A former employee of the Wood River Township Assessors Office has filed suit, claiming the assessor fired her because she protested a policy of buying or selling tickets to a Democratic fundraiser.

Sheena Howard named Assessor Sandy Shaw, a Democrat, claiming Shaw convened a meeting of her employees and told them that they were expected to sell a certain number of tickets or to buy at least two.

Plaintiff reasonably believed that it was illegal for defendant Shaw to require or otherwise instruct public employees to engage in political activity while working, including, but not limited to, the sale of fundraiser tickets.

On March 30, 2017, during an office meeting, plaintiff expressed her opposition to the practice of requiring, requesting or demanding that public employees sell tickets to fundraisers, the suit claims.

Howard then went to see Township Supervisor Mike Babcock, a Republican, and informed him of the allegedly illegal activities, the suit claims.

Shaw then allegedly put a note in Howards file, noting that Howard had met with Babcock, according to the complaint.

On April 26 and May 18, Howard was warned of excessive time off for sick days. Howard claims she took no more days off than were allotted to her.

Howard was terminated on June 1 for excessive days off and other disciplinary actions, the suit claims. Howard claims she was paid for nine hours unused sick pay.

She claims that she was perceived as a Republican at worst, or not a Democrat at best and terminated based on her perceived political affiliation. The claim that she took excessive days off was patently false, the suit claims. The stated reasons were merely a pretext, Howard claims.

Defendant Shaw terminated plaintiff in retaliation for plaintiffs speaking to Mike Babcock and to the general public about the matter of a public interest in violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the suit claims.

She is asking for at least $50,000 in damages. Howard is represented Keith Short and Jack Daugherty of Collinsville.

Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Shaw declined comment.

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Reach reporter Sanford Schmidt at 618-208-6449.

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Wood River Township Assessor sued for allegedly targeting 'Republican' employee - Alton Telegraph

John Curtis, the mayor of Provo, Utah, won the Republican primary in his state's third congressional district Tuesday, capping a campaign that will see him advance to November's general election after he collected over 15,000 signatures from party members simply to make the primary ballot.

The Associated Press projected Curtis to be the winner at 11:45 p.m. ET with 77 percent of precincts reporting.

Curtis' victory comes in the course of the district's special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz who officially resigned from his seat in May. He will face Democrat Kathie Allen and a collection of third party candidates in the general election on November 7.

The heavily conservative district, which Chaffetz represented from 2008 until this year, is widely expected to remain in Republican hands, but voters across Utah have previously registered their hesitations about President Donald Trump, who failed to receive a majority of the vote in the district in 2016, and earlier lost the statewide caucus to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, by a wide margin. Curtis admitted during his campaign to having not voted for Trump in November.

Former Utah state Rep. Chris Herrod finished second to Curtis Tuesday. Herrod secured the Republican nomination for the seat via the party's convention, but still faced a primary challenge after Curtis and businessman Tanner Ainge collected enough signatures to earn a spot in the race, according to The Salt Lake Tribune

While Curtis' campaign had its roots in the signature-collection effort, he received a number of high profile endorsements in recent weeks to bolster his reputation, including from Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the Tribune, the state's largest newspaper. Despite that support, Curtis has faced questions about his conservative credentials. Curtis once headed a county Democratic party committee, and was a registered Democrat until 2006, when he switched his registration to Republican.

He has served as mayor of Provo, the district's largest city and home to Brigham Young University -- the alma mater of all three of Tuesday's candidates -- since 2010.

Herrod had the backing of two sitting U.S. senators, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the latter for whom Herrod worked as Utah state director during the 2016 presidential race.

Ainge, the son of Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge ,who is well known in Utah for his time as a college basketball player at BYU, was the political newcomer of the group, though had earned the support of 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

Chaffetz resignation in the Spring took some in the Republican party by surprise. Thought to be a rising star in the party, the representative made a name for himself as the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and gained political visibility after the panel pursued aggressive investigations of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Internal Revenue Service and former Attorney General Eric Holder.

In November, Chaffetz won reelection to his fifth term by a 73.5 to 26.5 percent margin over his Democratic competitor. The winner of the general election this November will complete Chaffetz's term and be up for reelection in 2018.

ABC News' Dakshayani Shankar contributed to this report.

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Moderate mayor wins Republican primary to replace Rep. Chaffetz in Utah - ABC News

Scott Bauer, Associated Press

Republican Sen. Johnson says he's uncomfortable with Trump

MADISON, Wis. (AP) Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Wednesday that he doesn't think President Donald Trump is a racist or should be impeached, but that he's uncomfortable with Trump's repeated comments saying white supremacists and protesters should share the blame for deadly violence at a Virginia rally.

Gov. Scott Walker called for all white supremacists to be denounced, without commenting specifically on Trump, while other Republicans took a much sharper stand.

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a former Marine in his first term representing northeast Wisconsin, had harsh words for Trump.

"The president needs to be crystal clear that hatred has no place in our society, but he is currently failing," said Gallagher, a Republican.

Assembly GOP Majority Leader Jim Steineke denounced Trump for twice saying "both sides" shared the blame for violence at the rally where a 32-year-old woman was killed by a white supremacist. Trump has faced bipartisan criticism for not immediately condemning violence by white supremacists at the rally.

"When you see evil, you have to condemn it and do it in no uncertain terms," Steineke said. "I don't believe (white supremacists) have any place in any political party and we shouldn't legitimize their views by making a moral equivalent argument."

Johnson told reporters Wednesday that Trump's comments are a distraction from his broader agenda, including tax reform, and that he wishes the president would focus more on unifying the country.

But Johnson also said he did not think the remarks indicate Trump is unfit for office. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, Wisconsin's only African-American representative in Congress, called for Trump to be impeached hours after his comments on Tuesday.

Johnson said "I see no grounds" for impeachment.

"The American people elected Donald Trump and I'm not sure he's changed much from what he was during the campaign," said Johnson, who was an early and vocal supporter.

Asked if he thought Trump was a racist, Johnson said: "I don't think so."

When pressed why, he grew testy: "Because I just don't think so ... I think we've covered this one well enough."

Walker said after a round table event in Green Bay that he denounces all hate, echoing his tweet on Saturday condemning violence at the rally.

"I think any of the white supremacist groups or other groups just need to be unilaterally dismissed and denounced," Walker said.

Johnson said it was "depressing" that Heather Heyer was killed when a car rammed into a crowd of people protesting white nationalism, saying "all political officials need to speak out against that."

House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted Tuesday that "white supremacy is repulsive," but did not specifically address the president's comments.

Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow, of Clear Lake, set off a heated exchange on Twitter when he said: "As a reminder, @GOP is the party that ended slavery and led the civil rights fight. Dems on wrong side of both."

When questioned to explain if he was saying Trump was on the right side of the issue now, Jarchow tweeted: "Every single member of the @GOP I know deplores racism and denounces it. It's disgusting and wrong. That's the GOP I know."

Even conservative Wisconsin talk radio host Jerry Bader denounced Trump in response to Jarchow, saying the president's words are "vile, repugnant and clearly illustrate he is not fit to hold the office of president."

___

Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sbauerAP

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Republican Sen. Johnson says he's uncomfortable with Trump - SFGate

Gianno Caldwell, a Republican pundit, was skeptical of Donald Trumps original run for president, but he came to be one of Trumps most outspoken supporters. During an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News about President Trumps outrageous press conference, his outlook changed dramatically.

Caldwell was identified as a Republican political analyst, and he was introduced to the segment with a question about the good people on both sides of the debate about the fate of Confederate statues, but he did not take the bait. I come today with a very heavy heart, he started. Last night, I couldnt sleep at all because President Trump, our president, has literally betrayed the conscience of our country.

Caldwell started to tear up as he continued to speak:

The very moral fabric in which weve made progress when it comes to race relations in America? Hes failed us, and its very unfortunate that our president would say things like he did in that press conference yesterdaywhenhe says, There are good people on the side of the Nazis. They werent all Nazis and they werent all white supremacists.Mr. President, good people dont pal around with Nazis and white supremacists. Maybe they dont consider themselves white supremacists and Nazis, but certainly they hold those views. This has become very troubling and for anyone to come on any network and defend what President Trump did and said at that press conference yesterday is completely lost and the potential to be morally bankrupt. Im sorry no, I believe that and Im being very honest as one who has been talking about these issues for a very long time. Im sorry that this is where we are right now. I hope the president learns a lesson from his press conference on yesterday. Its disturbing.

Host Abby Huntsman tried to steer the conversation back to monuments, but Caldwell continued to lambast Trump for failing to be a moral leader on issues of race.

At Trumps fiery press conference Tuesday, he blamed both sides for violence in Charlottesville, including the alt-left, a term that seems to have beeninvented by Fox News Sean Hannity and used by conservatives over the past week to demonize liberals. Trumpestablished a moral equivalency between the white supremacists and the counter-protesters who responded to their gathering. He evendefended the very fine people he thought were there to simply protest the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate Armys fight to preserve slavery. White nationalists were thrilled by what he said.

Caldwells response to the conference was a significant shift from his usual support for the president.

Following his appearance Wednesday morning, his Twitter feed looked a bit different.

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Republican Fox & Friends pundit, overcome with emotion, says he can't defend Trump anymore - ThinkProgress

The trolley problem, that hoary old mainstay of philosophy syllabi and drunken ethical squabbles, is, to put it bluntly, hot right now. Just this year, its popped up in episodes of both Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Orange Is the New Black, as characters wrestled with the principles of utilitarianism and what it means to try to do good in the world. Its also become a meme, as New Yorks Select All explored last year: a framework for people to explore everything from pro-life principles to the death of Harambe.

The problem, in its most basic form, goes like this: A runaway trolley car is heading toward five people, and if it hits them, they will die. You, the problem solver, are standing by a lever that enables you to redirect the trolley to a siding where only one person is standing. By pushing the lever you will save five lives but be directly responsible for the loss of one. Do you pull the leverseek the greatest good for the greatest numberor do nothing, and let fate take its course?

Escaped Alone Finds Comfort at the End of the World

The issue with this particular conundrum, though, as Sarah Bakewell wrote in 2013, is that while people think theyre creatures of reason, our instincts are actually fickle and easily manipulated. And this is also the problem with direct democracy in generalwhen were asked to vote on matters of national importance, we tend to be uninformed, personally biased, or swayed by the strangest of factors. The Majority, a new show at Londons National Theatre by the performer and playwright Rob Drummond, is inspired by a wave of recent electoral upsets, from the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 to the Brexit vote last year. Throughout the show, Drummond asks a series of timely questions to which the audience votes yes or no on in real time, with the results immediately revealed, as he demonstrates how easily the shape of a question can alter its answer.

The questions range from the personal to the timely. Are we, the audience members, liberal? (90.55 percent yes.) Are we white? (91.18 percent yes.) Do we use social media? (67.29 percent yes.) Do we believe in absolute freedom of speech? (61.68 percent no.) Is violence sometimes the answer? (51.16 percent no.) Would we pull the lever to save five people? (70.94 percent yes.) What if, instead of pulling the lever, we had to push a fat man over a bridge to save five lives? Could we do it? (71.05 percent no, almost exactly the same percentage that would pull the lever the first time.) Its different when its a person, isnt it? Drummond notes, as if pondering our inconsistency.

These votes tend to play out as if the audience is participating in a game of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? While we vote, on small devices that are given out before the show begins, jaunty music plays and a giant clock projected onto the stage ticks down the time remaining. The votes are interspersed with Drummonds narrative, a strange, meandering story about how he got involved with the anti-fascism movement and ended up being arrested for punching a white supremacist. Drummond seems to want to use his personal experiences to illuminate the questions at hand, but his gonzo style means its hard to tell whats real and whats creative license.

As the show proceeds, the tone of the recurrent trolley questions gets darker, as if to emphasize to the audience the potential consequences of even the most theoretical questions. Would we save one innocent person to kill five nonviolent neo-Nazis? Should we vote for Drummond to dox a Scottish white nationalistwho pops up a handful of times in the storyright then and there? (On the night I attended, the audience voted yes, and Drummond dutifully typed the mans name and address into a comment section on a website that may or may not be real.)

Drummond is an engaging host, although the shows frequent jumps in style and tone sometimes make him feel like an interrogator rather than an entertainer. The pace often drags in his measured descriptions of his friendship with a mentally ill Scottish beekeeper obsessed with bringing down the Nazis who were overtaking his town, and the narrative doesnt cohere as well as it should with the questions The Majority asks. But the shows concept is a fascinating one, exposing the foibles and contradictions embedded in the minds of an audience of majority white, liberal, non-male theatergoerswhich is exactly the audience Drummond wants to target, although conservatives who attend might find themselves in the majority more than theyd think. When he asks people to vote on whether they believe in absolute freedom of speech, and only 38.82 percent say yes, he pauses. Liberal, he says, with ironic emphasis.

By the end of the 90-minute production, after Drummond has shared his disgust with himself for, as he puts it, punching a man for having an opinion, the audience seems shaken. When he asks us again whether its okay to abuse someone for something they personally believe, 87.64 percent say no. He has, essentially, converted us. But the ease with which hes done it is yet another unnerving element to bolster his argumentthat few of us really know or deeply consider what were voting for.

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The Majority Tests the Limits of Democracy - The Atlantic