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Letter to the Editor: Lanesboro, Minnesota resident David Williams responds to decorahnews.com's Friday story

Posted: Mon, Jan 20, 2014 5:10 PM

(Lanesboro, Minnesota resident David Williams e-mailed this Letter to the Editor in response to our article about him on Friday):

In his "Breaking News" piece which ran for 3 days, Paul Scott accused me of "impersonating an attorney".  He accused me of pretending to be someone I am not.

I was never accused by the Fillmore County attorney of "impersonating an attorney".  I was accused of using the word "lawyer" without authorization because I was not licensed to practice law in Minnesota.  I was never accused of engaging in any activity restricted to licensed attorneys.  I am a retired lawyer and land use planning consultant.  I never pretended to be someone I was not.  

More important, the Fillmore County misdemeanor conviction had nothing whatsoever to do with my efforts to help a group of Winneshiek County residents oppose frac sand mining within the county.  I do not need to be a licensed attorney to help these opponents of frac sand mining to revise their county's comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance.  These opponents of frac sand mining knew that I am not a licensed attorney.  The county supervisors and planning and zoning commission members knew that I am not a licensed attorney.  

Paul Scott's piece was libelous and defamatory.  Perhaps if Scott had taken the time to contact me, he would have received a more factual accounting of this situation.  Instead, Scott chose to rush his piece to print to achieve sensationalism without achieving accuracy.  This lingering "Breaking News" effort was designed to damage both my personal reputation and the advocacy efforts of Winneshiek County residents opposed to frac sand mining in the county.

Paul Scott fell into the trap of those who would like us to think that legislative issue advocacy (such as opposition to frac sand mining) requires a license to practice law.  It does not.  It's called the First Amendment.  Any of us can petition, advocate or lobby our federal, state and local government to advocate for our beliefs.  Including preparing proposed bills, ordinances and comprehensive plans.  This is not an arena exclusive to licensed attorneys.

Paul Scott published his piece on Friday knowing full well that I was scheduled to appear at the Winneshiek County board of supervisors meeting on Monday to discuss proposed amendments to the county comprehensive plan.  Then, Scott was puzzled at why I canceled my Monday appearance.  Scott created the environment for my appearance to be a circus, a distraction from a legitimate discussion of the serious issue.  I wanted the board of supervisors to be able to discuss proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan, not for my presence to be a distraction from that discussion.

For decades, I have used my planning and legal skills to advocate on behalf of environmental and land use planning issues.  I will continue to do so."