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Sharon board candidate might face April trial

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Robert Carlson

SHARON — A candidate for Sharon Village Board expects his criminal case to settle before it gets to a jury trial in April.

Robert W. Carlson, 128 Martin St., Sharon, is charged with falsifying campaign documents, a misdemeanor. His case is scheduled for trial April 16 and 17.

He is one of five candidates for three seats on the village board in the April 7 general election.

The charge stems from the spring 2008 election season when Carlson was running for Walworth County Board and Sharon Village Board, he said.

The 1st District Republican Party gave Carlson $150 for his county board campaign, according to court documents.

But Carlson in December 2007 had filed a campaign report stating he would not receive more than $100 from a single source, according to court records. The form exempted Carlson from reporting campaign contributions.

Walworth County Clerk Kim Bushey on April 18 called Carlson and told him he would have to return the money or amend his campaign form.

Carlson said he would return the money, but when Bushey called again on May 2, he had not done so.

Carlson still hadn't given the money back when Walworth County Sheriff's Capt. Dana Nigbor called him in June.

He said he had forgotten and took the blame for the mistake, according to court documents.

Carlson on Saturday told The Janesville Gazette he had returned the money. The Gazette was unable to reach a representative of the 1st District Republican Party for comment.

Carlson said it was an accident that he accepted too much money from the Republican party. It was the first time he ran two simultaneous campaigns, he said.

"It was what it was," Carlson said. "I wasn't doing anything unscrupulous."

If convicted, Carlson could be fined $1,000, jailed for six months or both.