UPDATE: Hudson Boosters Issue Statements About Candidate's Absence in July 2 Parade

UPDATE (3:35 p.m., July 11, 2011): Hudson Boosters Presdident Greg Mahr submitted the following statements to Hudson Patch, which he also sent to the Shelly Moore campaign:

"The Booster Days parade registration form says 'Political Entries Must Appear in Person.' It is the Boosters’ intent that the candidate appears in the parade, not just their supporters."

"The Boosters are disappointed that a candidate interpreted that to mean that if they didn’t register specifically under their name, but rather as a group, that the candidate did not have to appear in person."

"This clause was added to our parade registration form years ago because political entries did not have the candidate present. We added the above clause to our registration for and it has worked for years with no other known issues."

"During the parade lineup, parade lineup volunteer and Booster Treasurer, John Herink, asked participants of the 'Moore for Senate' entry if Shelly was on the float and he was told she was on the other side of the float/trailer. We now know that she was not."

"John personally witnessed other political entries, Sheila Harsdorf and Dean Knudson, in their parade entries."

"To ensure this does not happen again, the Hudson Boosters will:

• Review and revise our parade entry form for 2012 to remove any loophole and ensure that the candidate appears in person.
• Require parade lineup volunteers to verify each registered political entry that the candidate is personally present in the parade entry before allowing the entry to continue in the parade.

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Bags of collected candy aren’t the only residuals from the

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10) is accusing her opponent Shelly Moore violating the rules of the July 2 event.

“This weekend, Moore ignored the rules of the , perhaps choosing instead her NEA friends in Chicago over the 10th Senate District,” said Harsdorf, in a press release issued Tuesday.

Specifically Harsdorf charged that by not attending the parade: “Her decision violates the signed agreement Moore had with the community to require her attendance with the admission of her entry.”

Moore replied by calling the accusation “absurd.” She said she was careful not to violate the rules of the parade committee: The  registered entrant was not Moore herself, but “Moore for Senate,” and she said the parade organizers knew who was entering.

“I did understand the rule and there are lots of events to get to in the summer,” she said. “That’s why it was registered under ‘Moore for
Senate’ and they turned out in great numbers.”

Meanwhile, according to the parade registration log on the Hudson Boosters’ website, Harsdorf registered under her own name. She had a large crowd walking in the parade down Second Street with her.

The charge is among the latest from Harsdorf’s campaign and Republicans that suggest Moore is above campaign rules.

Last week the Wisconsin Republican Party filed a complaint stating Moore violated campaign rules by —a school district e-mail account—to coordinate campaigning efforts.

They cite a March 10 e-mail, obtained from her Ellsworth School District account, where she wrote "We are not supposed to use school e-mail, but since all of our rights are being taken away, I don’t frankly care."

Moore countered the latest charge by challenging the state senator to a debate. She said she's asked three times.

“She should return a . I will be at the debates whether she’s there or not,” Moore said. “The constituents want to  hear from us.”