'Bearded lady convention': Assembly candidate attacked looks and IQ of city he'd represent

Democratic Assembly candidate Brad Cook doesn't have a bad thing to say about Portage now that he's running this fall to represent the city at the Statehouse.

But that wasn't always the case.

Look at what he had to say on social media about the female shoppers at one of Portage's larger stores a few years back.

"Caution: Bearded Lady Convention being held now Portage Walmart!"

Or this Facebook post about the city in general.

"Finding intelligent life forms in the City of Portage today is more of a struggle than normal. Grrr..."

But Cook, a Columbia County supervisor, may have been even worse when he left his home county.

In 2015, he disparaged the racially diverse customers at the East Towne Mall in Madison, calling the shopping center an "Obamanation" made up of nothing but "beggars, bangers and white trash wannabes." Within five minutes of arriving, he said he saw "hair pulling and haymakers."

"Space travel can't come soon enough," Cook wrote.

His commentary was even worse in another post in 2015. He attacked a group he called "frickin idiots" without specifying his location.

"Nothing to do with justice for anyone or anything. All about busting into liquor stores and payday loan shops. Bring in the National Guard and shoot first (and) ask questions later."

Yikes.

Cook is one of three Democrats and one Republican running in the 40th Assembly District, which had traditionally been a red district but turned blue as a result of redistricting. Incumbent Rep. Dave Considine , a Baraboo Democrat, decided not to run for reelection .

When asked about the social media posts, Cook, a 50-year-old real estate agent, initially hedged, saying only that the items sounded like something he may have posted in the past. But later he acknowledged that he erased the posts when clearing his Facebook history.

"Yes, I do recall deleting these," Cook said.

In the interview, he said the posts were written out of "a bit of frustration and immaturity" nearly a decade ago, when he was in his late 30s and early 40s. For example, he said he believes the item about the lack of intelligent life in Portage probably had to do with drivers without their lights on in stormy weather.

As for the others, he didn't have a real justification.

"I'm sure they were mentioned in a jokey fashion," Cook said. "Sitting here today with you reading them to me, It doesn't come across well at all."

Two of Cook's opponents criticized him over his past Facebook posts. Karen DeSanto , a 59-year-old Democrat and former CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Wisconsin , offered no response.

"It's hard to believe that those comments were made," said Kyle Kunicki , a 23-year-old Democrat who is the son of former Assembly Speaker Walter Kunicki . "I think they're hurtful, and I mean they're disparaging at best. They're things that he'll have to answer for it to the people of the 40th Assembly District."

And the folks in Madison if Cook wins.

Gerald Helmer , a 73-year-old businessman, said he restricts himself to memes and comments to family and old school buddies with his Facebook remarks. He is the only Republican in the now-liberal district.

Helmer said Cook must have realized that he crossed a line.

"It's obvious that he knows that this is very detrimental to his campaign since he deleted those things," Helmer said.

Cook argued that he is a different person now than he was when he posted the controversial items back in the mid-2010s.

Today, he is heavily invested in his community, having been a volunteer firefighter in Pardeeville for 24 years, sat on the Columbia County Board since 2020, worked in real estate in Portage and participated in many volunteer groups and activity.

That leaves him with little time for social media, he said.

"If you speak with anybody that knows me in the recent past, I do not espouse those types of things," Cook said. "I rarely post anything on Facebook of that nature anymore."

Perhaps not. But try as he might, Cook was unable to completely erase his Facebook history. To cite one of his old posts, time travel didn't come soon enough.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Bearded lady convention': Assembly candidate attacked looks and IQ of city he'd represent