Responding to Rekha Basu’s Hit Piece on Dan Charleston

By Gregg Lynes,

In regards to the 6/3/12 Sunday Register article by Rekha Basu:

Polk County Deputy Sheriff Dan Charleston is running against his current boss, Sheriff Bill McCarthy and Dan will win the race on November 6th. That this article was written by Basu was no surprise; we expected it. That she heard about it from “unnamed sources” in upper administration of the Sheriff’s Office was not even mentioned in the article.

Mr. Brennan was certainly loved by his family and his son. That he died way too early is, without doubt, a terrible tragedy. When my Father died in 2004 I wrote and had printed in every major paper in Iowa what a great person he was and how we loved and respected him. That Gerald Brennan’s death is being used as a political football by the Sheriff, the Democratic Party and Ms. Basu to smear a candidate that is running against the democrat power base that has been Des Moines for decades is truly despicable.  It is Mr. Brennan’s family and his memory that are being used to hurt and disparage the reputation of two Polk County officers; the first at the scene after numerous civilians, was another deputy, then some time later, the other, Sergeant Dan Charleston, who has come to expect this type of treatment since he declared his intention to run for sheriff in May 2011.

The decades old material Basu thinks she is bringing to light was known to Sheriff Rice when he hired Dan.It was not a secret; nor is Deputy Charleston’s stand on cameras. Those cameras in squad cars are an important and necessary part of law enforcement. Those that are posted on overpasses to catch unsuspecting speeders and separate them from their hard earned money are in Charleston’s belief, unconstitutional .Had Basu taken the time to read the web site, this would have been evident.Another attack Basu makes is on Charleston’s stand regarding legal immigrants. That she “presumes” anything is simply a trait or habit that should never be accepted or tolerated by a journalist or the paper that prints that work.If anyone cares to do their own investigation: www.charlestonforsheriff.com. It is quite clear to anyone willing to read the site that Charleston is fully capable of distinguishing between illegals and tourists.

What I find objectionable about Basu’s article after using the Brennan family as pawns is the blatant lie that “Charleston, 45, didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.”  At 12:30 on Friday, 6/1, Ms. Basu was shown the tape of the Brennan scene while at the Polk County Sheriff’s office. That afternoon, while at work as a deputy sheriff, Dan received a message to call Ms. Basu.  Knowing that it would be a campaign issue, Dan finished his shift and then prepared and sent a response to her Facebook inquiry at 10:20 PM on Friday evening.  Obviously, Ms. Basu’s article was already written and too important to hold to make sure the facts were taken into account.As is so often the case with mainstream media, why let the facts get in the way of a good story?

I have known Dan Charleston for nearly ten years.  A fine man, a great father and husband as well as being a strong Christian guided by his faith.  For the purpose of full disclosure, I am a retired US Marine; nearly 25 years of both enlisted and officer experience, a neighbor of Dan Charleston and his family, and the husband of Dan’s campaign manager.