Is Brad Gehring Responsible for Local Political Firestorm?

My name is Jeff Ings.  I served on the Grand Chute Town Board from 2020 to 2024.  In October 2023, two Grand Chute residents filed an ethics complaint against me for voting to resurface Gillett Street – a Town road that was badly deteriorated to the point of being dangerous.  While it is true that my wife and I live on Gillett Street, many people benefitted from having the road repaired, as it is used by more than 500 people on a daily basis.

When I learned of the ethics complaint, I was deeply disappointed that two local residents thought my vote was anything but ethical.  Then on February 10^th of this year, I learned some very surprising information.  The ethics complaint against me was not written by the local residents who filed the complaint.  Rather, it was disclosed that the complaint had been written by Grand Chute Supervisor Brad Gehring!  Gehring then recruited two residents to file it.  Based on his actions, it appears that Gehring chose to ignore the existence of a public safety hazard, and instead used the safety hazard to secretly make a political attack against me.

Looking back at recent Grand Chute history, it is concerning that Brad Gehring’s fingerprints have also been on most or all of the lawsuits that Federal Judge William Griesbach collectively called a “local political firestorm.”

After the Town parted ways with former Administrator James March in May of 2023, at which time he was provided with six months of severance pay and benefits in accordance with his employment contract, Brad Gehring gave March his approval to sue Grand Chute.  Gehring actually gave March a “thumbs-Up” text emoji!

Gehring also performed an unauthorized private investigation of former Supervisor Ron Wolff and then filed a residency complaint against Wolff.  After Grand Chute Clerk Angie Cain rejected Gehring’s complaint against Ron Wolff, Gehring proceeded to use his past law enforcement influence to start a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation against Wolff.  Once the investigation was initiated, Gehring reported to the DOJ that Wolff was violating state law as a result of landscaping work the Town hired Wolff to complete.  However, at the time Gehring notified the DOJ of a potential violation, Wolff had not yet performed the work.  Gehring also failed to inform the DOJ that he (Gehring) had actually voted to approve the contract involving Wolff.

Further, Gehring failed to inform any members of the Grand Chute Board of the potential violation.  This failure appears to be a violation of Gehring’s fiduciary duty to the people of Grand Chute, and his oath of office as an elected Town official.

These statements are supported by public and legal documents which I believe reveal Brad Gehring to be at the center of all of our Grand Chute political turmoil that has been occurring over the past five years.

Earlier this spring I spoke with a number of residents about running for the Grand Chute Board.  I learned that people were afraid to run because they witnessed the ongoing ugly chain of events that have occurred.  Understandably, they did not want to put themselves and their families in harm’s way.  Like many of us, I am tired of Brad Gehring’s behavior and want it to stop.