By James Wigderson for Media Trackers
Ann Groves Lloyd is not the farmer she pretends to be. The Democratic candidate for Assembly in a special election in the 42nd district ran an ad describing how her family’s farm relied upon a well for five generations. However, somebody else has been farming the land.
“We’ve been drawing from our family well for five generations,” Groves Lloyd said in the ad. “Without it, this farm doesn’t run.”
The ad then shows Groves Lloyd trying to give a chicken and a cow bottled water without success. It’s unknown whether she borrowed the red plaid coat to look like a stereotypical farmer.
But in a speech in April, Groves Lloyd admitted that while she grew up on a farm, she never actually worked on it.
“My father was on the faculty of UW Madison,” Groves Lloyd said. “So we rented out the production, ag, land to a local farmer. He’s been growing crops on our farm for about 40 years now.”
Instead of being a farmer, Groves Lloyd was the Director of Career Services for the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is currently an alderman in Lodi, WI.
The farmland itself is owned and controlled by two trusts: the Groves Family Trust and the Francis W Groves Revocable Trust. The mailing address listed for the property is located in Boise, ID and belongs to a Jacqueline Groves, a possible relative.
Ironically, while Groves Lloyd made it appear in the ad that the farm was hers, a staff member for the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee thanked farmer Joan Kohn on Facebook for the use of the farm in the ad.
“It’s unbelievable that Ann Groves Lloyd would deceive voters by portraying herself as a Wisconsin farmer when she is nothing more than a far-left extremist,” said Alec Zimmerman, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “Lloyd’s entire campaign is built on a false marketing gimmick — voters deserve to know who they’re actually voting for when they cast their ballots.”
Groves Lloyd is running against Republican Jon Plumer, a town of Lodi board member and a small business owner. The special election is Tuesday, June 12. It was made necessary with the appointment of Republican Keith Ripp to a position in the Walker Administration.
Despite a message sent to Groves Lloyd’s email address, a message sent to the campaign’s Facebook page and a message sent through the campaign’s website. Groves Lloyd and her campaign did not respond to the inquiries about the ownership and operation of the farm.
