Caffeinated Politics

In the midst of so much awful news and absurd happenings, there was a news story that lifted the sails this week. The DeForest Village Board voted 5–2 to begin reintroducing fluoride into the water system. If you are asking yourself why ‘reintroduce’ this scientifically evaluated mineral to the water supply, you would be correct in your astonishment that it was ever removed. The saga of fluoride in the drinking supply in this village has been a simmering issue with an outcome that proves the power of democracy.

Over the past year, the issue has been needlessly contentious due to the actions of a minority of MAGA activists on the board who wished to promote ‘alternative facts’ about fluoride. One of those trustees used Facebook to spout lies about the 202o election, and cast aside science to deny facts about COVID or the vaccines that worked to insulate people from more serious health consequences or hospitalizations. With such a background, it was not difficult to conclude what was driving the “research” about fluoride in the village’s water supply. At times, with all the ‘research’ underway, the village seemed to have an oversupply of brilliant luminaires in line for Nobel Prizes.

In February 2025, the board voted 4-3 to remove fluoride from the community drinking water.

In September, a recall vote was held, in which one of the trustees, William Landgraf, who voted against the additive to water, was ousted. Village residents had reported that the trustee used intimidation against those who opposed him by sitting in his car in front of their homes. The other opposition to fluoride, Rebecca Witherspoon, resigned in September.

The reason this issue struck so heavily at Caffeinated Politics is an underlying lesson that must be learned. Voters need to be more cognizant about the names that appear on the local election ballot. Harsh conservatives try to get elected to local office without facing the needed glare of transparency. It is a political maneuver used nationwide by conservatives. It’s not loud. It’s not flashy. But it’s deliberate. Right-wing operatives and ideologues quietly run for local office across the country under the guise of neutrality, masking their affiliations and agendas until after the ballots are cast. This stealth strategy is corrosive. The citizens of DeForest saw the consequences of this play out over the past year.

Each time these conservative stealth-type candidates run, they present themselves as either concerned parents, civic-minded neighbors, or budget hawks. They avoid party labels, downplay ideological commitments, and sidestep hot-button issues during campaigns. But once elected, their true priorities emerge.

As a process (small d) democrat, meaning that I value standards and procedures both in running for office and in how governing occurs, I am very concerned about how conservatives too often seek to undermine the very foundation of democratic choice. First and foremost, voters deserve transparency. When candidates obscure their true intentions, deflect, and hedge from questions presented by voters, they then rob communities of informed consent. 

What DeForest confronted was how a local governing unit became disjointed when elected officials making village decisions also had disdain for medical and scientific experts. Once aware of what was happening to their community, residents acted.  And in that solid defense of their values and facts, they made everyone proud. You need not live in DeForest to feel the weight of what happened.

We know that democracy is loud, messy, burly, and very much a participatory undertaking. I want to stress to readers that what the citizens did is a case study in how communities hold their leaders accountable, how science must be respected in public policy, and how democracy empowers citizens to demand better.

Let me be perfectly clear on a final point. Removing fluoride from drinking water wasn’t just a policy misstep; rather, it was a public health risk. Making the correct decision to reintroduce fluoride to the water supply is logical and reasonable. But it was due to the people of DeForest who organized, spoke out, and demanded accountability. They are the ones to whom democracy owes a thank you.