GovernorCandidate Defends Reference Letter For Convicted Attorney

A Democratic candidate for governor defends a character reference she wrote for a former legislative lawyer convicted of having child porn. State Senator Kathleen Vinehout of Alma was among one dozen people writing reference letters for David Lowell, who’s serving a three year prison term on five counts of child porn possession. Vinehout was the only sitting member of the Legislature who spoke up for Lowell in 2015, saying he was a “hardworking public servant” with “extraordinarily diplomatic skills” — and after working with him for eight years, she never saw him as being other than a “dedicated professional.” Vinehout tells the Madison Capital Times her mother taught her to “hate the sin but not shun the sinner,” but the state G-O-P said the letter reflects poorly on her character and Democrats should “disavow her actions.”