A controversial memo crucial to both the current recall drive against Elmwood township supervisor Deri Smith and to an anonymous letter-writing campaign aimed at Smith by her political opponents was repudiated by its source as early as last May, the Post has learned.

At stake is a confidential Suttons Bay village personnel report concerning Smith, who worked for the village from 2001-2004. The report was obtained under circumstances that remain unclear and circulated in an unsigned letter with no return address to Suttons Bay residents, which has led to a civil suit by Smith against Noel Flohe, John Stanek and Don Barrows of Elmwood township for defamation of character.

The mailing went out with a hand-written caption “Alledged [sic] Misuse of Funds.” It recently resurfaced again when handed out at public meetings and posted anonymously on the Elmwood Township Hall bulletin board. The memo also forms the basis of one of the charges laid against Smith in the recall campaign. Flohe, whom Smith defeated in the 2004 race for Elmwood supervisor; Stanek, who was voted off the Elmwood Board of Trustees in 2004; and Barrows are among the recall campaign’s chief organizers.

Now the Post has learned that Chuck Stewart, Suttons Bay Village Manager, informed the group in May 2005, before the letter was mailed, that the charges in the report had been investigated and found to have no basis. In an email to Smith dated May 19, 2005 Stewart said that “the group was told prior to their mailing, that the village confirmed there was no wrong doing by you during your tenure with the village.” He further states “It was specifically stated to them the concerns outlined in the letter was followed up and it was found that there was no criminal action on your part at anytime during your employment with the village.” Nevertheless, claims that Smith was involved in illegal activities formed a central element of both the anonymous letter and the current recall campaign.

Ms. Smith has filed a circuit court complaint demanding a retraction. Her attorney, Grant Parsons of Traverse City, states, “This is a highly unusual case. We have proof the anonymous group publicized something they had actual knowledge was false and defamatory. The usual defense – ‘I didn’t know I was doing wrong’ – won’t work.”

Correction: Deri Smith asked the group for a retraction in June 2005. It was only after they continued to circulate the material that she filed suit in July 2005.