3 compete in DeForest recall election following vote to remove fluoride from water

Three candidates are facing off in a special election in DeForest that follows a years-long dispute involving police reports, a burner email account and Facebook fights over dental hygiene.

During next Tuesday’s election, voters will weigh whether to keep Trustee William Landgraf in office or replace him with either Stacey Petersen or Alicia Williams.

The recall attempt comes amid political discord in the village of some 12,000 people, about 30 minutes north of Madison.

Those tensions reached a boiling point in February, when trustees, including Landgraf, voted 4-3 to stop adding fluoride to the the village’s water.

Landgraf, who has served multiple stints on the board, has framed the election as a political witch hunt, saying he’s being targeted because of his blunt approach.

“I don’t back down to attacks,” Landgraf told WPR. “Some people do.”

But recall organizers say the election is about more than just one board vote, pointing to Landgraf’s conduct.

“This is is not a fluoride recall,” said Chris McDonald, one of the recall organizers. “That is one component of the reason for the recall. But really the behavior — the intimidation, the harassment — is the other reason.”

Tensions reached boiling point with vote to remove fluoride from water

While other factors may be at play in the special election, the fight over fluoride put a spotlight on DeForest.

Both of the candidates running to replace Landgraf say they want to restore civility and cooperation in village government. But both have declined to say definitely whether they support or oppose adding fluoride to DeForest’s water.

Petersen has said the issue has been divisive and she doesn’t want to revisit it. Effectively, that would mean keeping the status quo with no added fluoride in the water supply.

Meanwhile, Williams, who is endorsed by the recall organizers, said she believes trustees need to hear more input on the topic. She said she would support restoring fluoride “if a majority of my constituency says they want fluoride back.”

Fluoride, a mineral, can be naturally present in drinking water, but many communities add fluoride to their water supply to maintain levels that are optimal for preventing tooth decay.

There’s broad consensus among dental health experts who support adding fluoride to water. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics both have championed water fluoridation.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously heralded water fluoridation as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, which led to a dramatic decline in cavities.

The new U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. has shared false information about the effects of fluoride, however, and he’s said he wants to issue recommendations that would urge water systems to remove it.

‘This is not a fluoride recall’: Recall organizers cite unprofessional conduct

Landgraf was among the board members who voted to remove the fluoride, but McDonald said that’s not the only reason people are attempting to boot him from office.

“That really got a lot of eyes on the board,” McDonald said. “And the way some of the trustees behaved.”

McDonald, who lives in the neighboring village of Windsor, said some of the residents who signed the recall petition supported the anti-fluoride vote. Nonetheless, he says they’re opposed to Landgraf’s conduct both on and offline.

The recall petition says Landgraf failed to follow “DeForest’s core values for civility and conduct” and accuses him of creating an “atmosphere of fear, division and mistrust.”

Landgraf served as a village trustee from 2003 to 2005, before being elected again in 2020, 2022 and 2024. A successful recall would lead to Landgraf being ousted part-way through his current two-year term, which expires in April 2026.

Landgraf has a pattern of waging personal attacks against residents who criticize him, McDonald said.

“He has been known to park in front of people’s homes that have disagreed with him to the point where several residents have doorbell camera footage of him sitting in his car in front of their houses,” McDonald said.

Landgraf, meanwhile, says he’s being unfairly targeted.

“If this was Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, I’d have a better chance to defend myself then against these baseless accusations,” Landgraf said.

He described himself as “blunt and to the point” but said that can be effective.

“I’m an intimidating guy, just in my presence,” Landgraf said, mentioning he is 6 feet 2 inches tall and 280 pounds. “I don’t beat around the bush, and I get things done.”

Landgraf is urging residents to reject the recall.

“I have a solid record of voting, showing up, doing my homework,” he said. “I stand by my decisions, my votes.”

Landgraf has a history of conflicts

In some cases, Landgraf’s conflicts have escalated to contact with police.

One resident spoke at a village council meeting on April 18, 2023, describing issues with Landgraf. That man has shared screenshots from camera footage, showing Landgraf’s car parked outside the resident’s house on multiple days.

Days after the board meeting, Landgraf showed up at the village police station and said he wanted to report that resident because he suspected the man was driving with a suspended license. Police looked up the man’s driving records and determined that his license was valid, according to a police report.

Landgraf and the man have argued on Facebook. While talking to police, Landgraf described a conflict with the man stemming from a 2023 race in which Landgraf ran for village president.

Landgraf told WPR he contacted police about the man after looking him up on Wisconsin’s public-facing court website and discovering that the man had a history of unpaid traffic citations.

Landgraf also said he hasn’t done anything that would amount to stalking or harassment.

“I’ve done nothing illegal or unethical,” Landgraf said. “If I’ve done anything illegal, the police would have me arrested.”

Landgraf said he often drives around DeForest.

“I can park on a public street anywhere in the village,” Landgraf said.

Landgraf filed complaint against dental hygienist who criticized anti-fluoride vote

Opponents also point to Landgraf’s actions against a dental hygienist who opposed the vote to remove fluoride.

That hygienist, who is also a DeForest resident, had raised concerns during public meeting comments and on Facebook about how the vote would hurt dental health.

In March, she got into an argument with Rebecca Witherspoon, one of the trustees who voted to remove the fluoride. The hygienist tagged Witherspoon in a Facebook comment.

“Hope those crowns on multiple of your teeth hold up well without fluoride, Becky,” the hygienist wrote in a Facebook group. “Dental care is expensive and so are new crowns!”

The hygienist continued to describe Witherspoon’s possible dental issues, saying her observations were based on how Witherspoon’s teeth and jaw look in photos. Witherspoon is not one of the hygienist’s patients.

The next day, Landgraf called the dentist’s office where the hygienist works and said he wanted to speak to a “decision maker” about “unprofessional misconduct,” on the part of the hygienist.

Later that week, Witherspoon and Landgraf each filed a complaint against the hygienist with state’s Department of Safety and Professional Services.

“To publicly ridicule and shame an individual like this under the guise of a licensed medical professional was appalling,” Landgraf wrote in his complaint, according to records provided by DSPS. “(The hygienist) needs some time off at the very least to reconsider the damage she did to the public trust of dentistry.”

The state’s licensing agency dismissed both complaints against the woman, and her license remains active.

Landgraf’s actions prompted the hygienist to file a report with police, saying she was concerned about his behavior, and the fact that he knew where she worked.

Police determined that Landgraf’s actions involving the woman didn’t amount to a crime. But a village police sergeant did tell Landgraf to leave her alone.

“I explained if he did continue, he could venture potentially into criminal stalking, and that would not be good,” the officer wrote in his police report.

In an interview with WPR, Landgraf said he did nothing wrong by reporting the woman.

“I asked for a call back (from the dentist’s office) and I never got it — that’s when I filed a complaint with the state,” Landgraf said. “I thought it was very unprofessional of a resident (to be) degrading publicly the facial features of another person.”

Landgraf sent email pretending to be ‘national reporter’

Recall organizers have also flagged an unusual February 2025 email, purporting to be from someone named Bob Dean.

In that email, Dean claimed to be a “chief national reporter” writing a story about “the fluoride issue.” The email offered the person $200 for an interview.

In an interview with WPR, Landgraf admitted he sent that email as “Bob Dean.”

“I have a burner email for junk,” Landgraf said. “I’ve been ‘Bob Dean’ as a junk email for years.”

Landgraf sent the “Bob Dean” email to one of the people who had emailed village trustees just days before, expressing support for fluoridated water.

When asked why he pretended to be Bob Dean, Landgraf said he was suspicious of some of the pro-fluoride emails. He said he suspected fluoride supporters were using pseudonyms.

“They were anonymous,” Landgraf said. “I threw it back at them as anonymous. There’s nothing illegal.”

What reasons are the other candidates citing for running?

The recall committee is supporting Williams over Petersen.

Williams was actively involved in the recall organizing process, while Petersen was not, McDonald said.

Williams cited a desire to promote professionalism and respect on the village board as her reasons for running. She said members of the public should be able to air their concerns without fear of retaliation, and she said she would push for a code of conduct to hold trustees accountable.

After the anti-fluoride vote, Williams ran unsuccessfully as a write-in candidate in the regular April election. In September’s election, she will be officially on the ballot.

Williams said she’s running on behalf of residents who feel “disenfranchised” because they believe trustees didn’t get enough community feedback before voting on fluoride. She stopped short of making promises about whether she would or would not vote to restore the fluoride, but said trustees need to take another look at the issue.

“Water is something that affects all of us, therefore, I believe all of us should have had a say,” William said in an interview with WPR. “If I were on the board, I’d bring it up to the board for them to explore what it would take to bring fluoride back.”

In contrast, Petersen said she is “comfortable” with the vote to remove fluoride and doesn’t think it would be worthwhile to re-vote on it.

“The fluoride debate did split opinions, and it split neighbors, and I respect both sides,” Petersen said, adding that she grew up drinking well water without added fluoride. “Now I want to focus on healing, monitoring outcomes with public health partners, and investing in practical dental support like education and sealant programs rather than re-initiating a fight.”

Petersen said she decided to file for candidacy in the September special election after “more than a dozen” DeForest residents reached out asking her to throw her hat in the ring.

“They just didn’t feel like they had a good candidate to go on,” Petersen said. “I’m running because I’ve seen firsthand the divide growing in our community, and I believe we can do better.”

How the recall works, and when it might be resolved

Village voters must select one candidate in the Sept. 16 election.

The election could be decided that day if any one of the three candidates gets more than 50 percent of the vote. But, if no candidate gets a majority in this month’s election, the top two vote-getters will compete in another election on Oct. 14 to decide the winner.

If voters want to keep Landgraf in office, they should choose his name. If they want to replace him, they should select either Petersen or Williams.

Early, in-person voting is underway at Village Hall through Friday. On Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and absentee ballots must be received by the time polls close in order to be counted.

A photo ID is needed to vote. If residents haven’t registered to vote already, they can bring proof of address to register at Village Hall through Friday, or register at the polls until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.