By Emily Miller with additional reporting by David Goerg

REXBURG—The campaign for three seats on the Rexburg City Council took a surprising turn last weekend as six of the nine candidates announced together that they would not be attending a candidate forum scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23. It was a move that left organizers confused and one local man feeling he and his new organization had been mischaracterized. 

We wanted to give everyone a chance to explain their positions and clarify their decisions before the Tuesday election. 

The six candidates who bowed out included Colin Erickson, Crystal Hill, Greg Blacker, Robert Chambers, and incumbents Mikel Walker and Brad Wolfe. Candidates Jacob Flamm and Kelly McKamey attended. Luke Walker was on military duty that weekend but has stated on social media that he would have attended. 

As in election years past, the event was organized by the Madison County Republican Women as a way to get to know the candidates, this time using a Jeopardy game show format. The six abstaining candidates notified organizers they would not be attending in an email sent Oct. 22, one day before the forum, and two days after they had each been emailed most of the forum questions. 

Organizers decided to proceed with the forum, emceed by Randy Sutton, chair of the Madison County Republican Central Committee, and Daniel Brigman, founder of The 76 Project. According to MCRW President Elaine King, because of Brigman’s willingness to emcee and because he provided the sound system for the event, The 76 Project was added as a co-sponsor. 

According to a joint press release from the six candidates, emailed by Hill to various news outlets, it was the addition of The 76 Project as a co-sponsor (referred to as “another local group” in the press release) that caused more than half of the candidates to back out the day before the event.

The 76 Project was founded two months ago by Brigman, an author and former national talk radio host who moved to Rexburg from out of state in the spring of 2021. He said he created the website in an effort to bring government and citizens together and unite people across party lines. While he had worked with other like-minded people, he said that other than a small mailing list, he had no official members and no board of directors. 

“The 76 Project is my brainchild,” he said. “I look at politics, I see the polarization, especially over the last two or three years, I see the divisiveness, and I don’t like it. I see the definition of being American being changed.”

Hill said that as she and the others spoke as the day of the forum approached, they realized they all had some concerns.

“Out of respect for one another, calls were made,” Hill said. “It wasn’t just about me, it wasn’t just about any of the other five. It was almost like each of us truly cared to make sure that everybody was taken care of. Once we started talking, we discovered a few discrepancies that kind of made us tilt our heads a little bit to the side. And we wondered, we wondered if there was any merit or weight behind it. A few of the things that came up are, one, we saw that it was co-sponsored by The 76 Project. In no way are we sitting here and pointing fingers at The 76 Project as a whole. However, some of the members, or some people that are affiliated with it, whether as a member or by affiliation—I cannot say for sure if these affiliates are part of this group, absolutely—we have a group, an unnamed group of extremist radicals if you will, that are conservative to a point that it’s a little uncomfortable, and I, myself, am concerned.”

Though Brigman maintains that The 76 Project is his own and that there are no official members or any kind of board of directors, the candidates were wary of possible affiliation with community members (whom they didn’t want to name) who had previously demonstrated at local government meetings and events, including outside Rexburg City Hall when the city council was considering the implementation of a citywide mask mandate in the summer of 2020. 

“We’ve known about this (forum) for maybe a month, and now it’s co-sponsored by The 76 Project,” she said. “Our concern at the beginning was, we have this group of radicals and extremists—are they going to come and heckle as they’ve done in the past, with the governor, with our city council? Are they going to threaten? … Is this the same group?”

One local citizen, who requested to remain anonymous, participated in that summer 2020 mask mandate protest. She asserted that some protesters were loud and impassioned, but from her point of view, none were threatening. 

“I can’t guarantee nothing was said quietly, but I can speak to the overall atmosphere, which was one of protection for our kids and belief in our rights as American citizens,” she said. “There was absolutely no one that was being physically threatening, or nothing I heard verbally. Chanting was it. … I am strongly against anyone spinning that night into anything negative or physically threatening. As a witness, I was there and there was absolutely none of that. Zero.”

King and Brigman each reached out to the candidates by email in an attempt to discuss any concerns they had about the Oct. 23 forum, but each said they did not receive any response once the six candidates had announced their decision not to attend.  

In an email to Rexburg Commons responding to questions about his decision to decline participation in the forum, candidate Colin Erickson expressed frustration with what he believed was a lack of transparency from organizers. 

“The biggest problem I had with the forum was the deceit,” he said. “They asked us under one hat of who was sponsoring the forum, and then after we all agreed, the hat suddenly shifted. The emcee we were informed of was suddenly now two different emcees. The format changed. I had asked for the questions and was told they would not give them out. One person told me the questions were already written by someone who I know is not associated with the group who asked us. Then the day after that, the topics changed and then suddenly we were provided with questions and told that the committee met the night before and wrote the questions. They kept changing their story which added to my concerns.”

Mikel Walker shared some of the same concerns. 

“When I was first invited by Elaine King to attend the candidate forum, it was hosted only by the MCRW and Randy Sutton was the emcee and it was going to be a format of questions and answers,” Mikel Walker said. “As the date of the forum got closer, things began to change. The 76 Project was added as co-sponsors, Daniel Brigman was added as a co-emcee and it turned into a Jeopardy format. Things were changing so fast that it was concerning to me that I felt uncomfortable with the situation. Then, when I found out that at least one of the organizers had donated substantially to the campaign of one of the candidates, I felt that there could be some bias towards myself and the other candidates. When visiting with the other candidates, I found out they had the same concerns, so as a group we chose not to attend the forum. I do want to apologize that I didn’t give notice sooner. I am sorry that we didn’t include Jacob Flamm in the discussion but it was an oversight.”

Chambers’ concerns focused more on what he perceived as the core principles of The 76 Project, but said he regretted the short notice given to organizers. 

“My decision not to participate in the forum was not a matter of perceived bias against me, but a bias I felt existed toward government,” he said. “As I read the introductory information on Facebook regarding Project 76 [sic], I felt that bias and made my decision to stick up for government, especially local government, by non-participation. Was there a better way to handle this? Possibly, but I made the best decision I could in the moment of the decision.”

Brigman disagreed with the characterization of the project. 

“Having local government built around our community values is one of our highest goals,” Brigman said. “I don’t know where he got this idea. It seems he is confused. Perhaps he should have asked for a clarification. We asked him to express his concern. Perhaps we could have worked through it and I’m sure he would have felt comfortable … The community would have been better having him there.”

According to candidates inside and outside of the agreement, the other three candidates were not invited to join the six in their joint decision to withdraw from participating in the forum. Candidate Kelly McKamey said he learned of the decision of the others just hours before the event began, when organizers called him to verify he was still planning to attend. 

McKamey said that when he received the call, he wondered why they were asking. 

“I had no clue,” he said.

Chambers gave some possible reasons the other three candidates were not included. 

“In my thinking (since I am just one of six and can only speak for myself), Luke Walker had already notified the group he would be gone and therefore was not contacted,” Chambers said. “Kelly McKamey had the financial support of some of the individuals involved in the forum and therefore was not contacted. Jacob Flamm was an oversight. He should have been given the opportunity and I apologize that he was not.” 

Erickson shared Hill’s concerns about the potential for aggressive behavior from the audience, and Chambers’ concerns about organizers’ financial contributions to one candidate. 

“I do not have any direct bias about Daniel Brigman,” Erickson said. “He seems like an intelligent and knowledgeable person who cares about his country. However, there are several individuals associated with The 76 Project who have personally donated to one candidate’s campaign. I was also concerned with some of the people who are starting The 76 Project who are known to be part of previous incidents in our community. In order for us to address the issues that pertain to our city, Rexburg, it takes all of us coming together and working together.  I did not feel like that forum was going to accomplish that. The only regret I have is that we did not reach out to Jacob Flamm, but it was simply an oversight.”

Three of the candidates, Chambers, Erickson, and Mikel Walker, expressed regret at not contacting Flamm, each explaining it as an “oversight.” Flamm indicated he may not have joined the group, anyway. 

“Had there been a problem presented to me concerning the event, I would have sat down with the event organizers to work it out rather than skirt around an issue,” Flamm said.

McKamey acknowledged that several of his friends had contributed financially to his campaign who also participated with the MCRW.  

“Elaine King, Michelle Adams, and Maria Nate,” he said. “These women are part of the Madison County Republican Women’s Committee. They are also my friends, and have been for years. As individuals, they each have contributed approximately $100 to my city council campaign. None of them live in Rexburg. None of them can vote in city elections. … Are we at a point where we can’t have our friends on our campaign?”

McKamey noted that the MCRW as a group had not donated to his campaign, and neither had The 76 Project, and said he had been very open about donations to his campaign. 

“Individuals who are friends have a moral and legal opportunity to donate to people’s election campaign fund if they want them to win,” McKamey said. “The fact that they also belong to other organizations does not indicate that that organization supports that particular candidate … I have not even looked at (the other candidates’) donation reports. They can have everyone donate to their campaign. Campaign on what it is that you’re going to do for the city of Rexburg and win on that. If somebody violates a law, then that’s why we have those campaign laws.”

Hill said she and other candidates were concerned enough about some of the organizers’ support of McKamey that they weren’t sure the other candidates would get a fair shake. 

“Why is there such a stage for this particular candidate?” she asked. “And why is there such a push for him, especially with people that are funding him that aren’t even in city limits? … It almost feels like a Trojan horse. That they’re trying to get this particular candidate to come in, and create a venue to make him look good, and the rest of us look bad.”

McKamey and Brigman each pointed out what they perceived as an inconsistency in principle, as all the candidates were willing to attend another forum, a few days later, hosted by the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce, where candidate Brad Wolfe sits on the board of directors. Brigman addressed this in a letter to the six abstaining candidates, sent Oct. 25, between the two forum dates. 

“The forum was professional and fair, just as I’m sure the Rexburg Chamber Forum will be professional and fair even though one of the candidates sits on their Board of Directors,” Brigman wrote. “I don’t ‘perceive bias’ in either situation.”

McKamey said he was disappointed in the six candidates’ decisions to sit out of an event that he believed was fair and informative. 

“Vigorous debate where we can end civilly and as friends is really healthy,” he said. “I don’t think we need to shut disagreement down.”

Hill said she would be willing to work with The 76 Project on future events, given the chance to learn more about it. 

“After I grovelled and said my apologies, because I called them out,” she said. “If it was found out that calling them by name was incorrect, I would profusely apologize. However, again, if there are affiliates within the 76 group, whether members or just affiliates, I would not consider working with an extreme group … But I would love to meet with the founder and say, ‘Hey, let’s break some bread.’ If I felt that his intentions were pure, absolutely, absolutely. I have no ill will towards anybody. As long as they know that their intentions are proper and on the right track of making sure that our community is taken care of. If this was his goal, to keep our community together and to do great things, then I support that. If his intentions are to rile people up, I don’t support that. I don’t support division and I don’t support extremism on either side.”

Brigman said he was surprised to have been put in the extremist box for espousing conservative values in Rexburg. 

“I’ve heard ‘far right,’ I’m just aghast,” he said. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know it was far right to want to hold a Constitution Day celebration, or have a discussion about 5-year-olds learning CRT (critical race theory) or what gender they are. If that’s far right, then I guess I’m far right, but I didn’t think it was. Or having a candidate forum where we can meet them and ask them questions directly. If that’s extreme, then fine, I guess I’m extreme … I never, never dreamed this was going to become even mildly controversial. We worked very hard to have a fun, interactive candidate showcase. I am frankly semi-shocked what this has turned into.”

Brigman said The 76 Project was never meant to cause controversy, but to bring people together to discuss important topics and the values that are important to the community. 

“So many things are pulling at the fabric of what it means to be an American that if we don’t stand up for what we believe in—not in an extreme way, but in a respectful, come-together, community kind of way—we’ll wake up one day and we’ll wonder where our country, where our community went.”

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