Sun Valley resident Franz Suhadolnik has acknowledged being one of what he said is a group of people responsible for circulating an anonymous letter to Sun Valley voters criticizing City Councilman and candidate Nils Ribi.
Suhadolnick, a frequent attendee at Sun Valley City Council meetings and writer of letters to the editor in the Mountain Express, declined to divulge the names of the other members of the group.
The letter, sent to Sun Valley residents last week, told voters that "it is time to end Ribi's political career" because he "consistently votes to give your money to his favorite special interests and charities."
The letter enumerated Ribi's alleged excessive giving to the Wood River Economic Partnership, Blaine County Housing Authority, the Environmental Resource Center and "others too numerous to mention."
The mostly typed letter is signed "Sun Valley Citizens for Better Government," but no contact information or any explanation as to the members of the group is given.
Contacted by an Idaho Mountain Express reporter, Suhadolnik defended the letter as being entirely factual. He said he wanted to sign his name to it, but "didn't have full control." He said the group decided against any personal signatures and left it at "Sun Valley Citizens for Better Government."
"It's a small town and they don't want to offend their friends," he said.
For that reason, Suhadolnik said he wouldn't divulge the names of the other members.
"If they want to come forward, I will let them do that," he said.
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But he's not one to hide his involvement, he said.
Suhadolnik has written numerous letters to the editor skeptical of Ribi and local politics.
"My name's out there more than it should be," he said.
Suhadolnik said he's going to submit a letter to the editor of the Express explaining his actions.
Ribi sent a rebuttal letter to Sun Valley voters on Oct. 24 stating that the unwillingness of those who wrote the letter to put their names to it only discredits their claims.
"We can all support those who express their own opinions about candidates for public office," Ribi wrote in the letter, "but there should be a line drawn when people ... hide cowardly behind anonymity."
In an interview with the Express, Ribi repeated his contention that those responsible for the letter are "cowards."
"The bottom line to me is, would you want your name associated with that letter?" he asked.
In Ribi's Oct. 24 letter, he didn't specifically address the accusations made against him.
"It would be impossible to address each misstatement here (in the letter)," he wrote, adding that concerned voters can call him with questions.
Three days after his letter, Ribi defended his political decisions in a blog posting on www.nilsribi.wordpress.com.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
Nils Ribi
