GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Just days before Green Bay residents hit the polls, a city council candidate is hurling a major accusation against her opponent.
Late Friday, District 8 candidate Debbie Jacques said that her bank accounts at a local bank were illegally accessed, and one of the parties responsible is incumbent Alderman Chris Wery.
“They contacted me and confirmed that indeed at least one of my accounts was inappropriately accessed,” Jacques said during a press conference. “It has been confirmed that local employees were involved.”
Jacques had issued a statement to the media before the press conference, which stated that Wery is a contract employee of the financial institution. But when questioned about confirming that the employee fired Friday morning was Wery, she refused comment.
“I feel totally violated,” Jacques said. “Like someone came into my home and stole my personal information.”
Jacques, around numerous no comment responses to questions, confirmed that she has contacted the Green Bay Police Department and will file a complaint with the state Government Accountability Board.
“I know this is frustrating, it’s frustrating to me right now, but I think our voters in District 8 need to know exactly what’s going on,” Jacques says.
Wery, who was unavailable for comment Friday evening, released his own statement:
“It is true that I did file a complaint against Debbie Jacques with the Government Accountability Board. Nothing in the complaint came from her financial records. However, it is clear that Debbie Jacques was hiding where she was obtaining her campaign financing and was clearly spending far over the non-reporting limit and yet did not comply with state election law. We still do not know why.”
Responding to that statement, Jacques said, “I turn in all my expenses on Monday and we have nothing to hide.”
According to both Wery’s social media account and a profile in the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Wery works with Associated Bank.
Jacques would not confirm the name of her financial institution.
