Lawton clarifies Green Bay comments

Green Bay - Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton is clarifying comments she made about the Green Bay community.

Thursday, Lawton said that Green Bay "seems to repeatedly brand itself as a provincial backwater."  The comment came in response to WTAQ 1360's decision to suspend talk show host Jerry Bader for two weeks. Lawton said the suspension was "inadequate."

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"I understand that comment, without all of the commentary that I made around it - taken out of context, would be very easily misunderstood," said Lawton on Friday.

"Green Bay is a wonderful place but when this kind of thing is allowed to go unchecked it becomes the most visible statement about who we are, and it's not who we are," Lawton added.

Earlier this week, Bader posted a story on the station's Web site claiming Lawton dropped out of the 2010 governor's race because she was involved in an extramarital affair which was about to come to light. Lawton vehemently denied the report, calling the allegations “gross.”

Bader later retracted the story. He has since apologized to Lawton, and she accepted.

But some say the statement hurts the city's image.

"Green Bay is just a great place to work, to live and to play," said Gail McNutt, co-chair of the city's branding initiative 'Better By The Bay.' "There's fabulous companies here, there's wonderful recreational opportunities. There's just a great balance," McNutt added.

But McNutt said it is hard to comment on whether Lawton's remarks have an impact on how others view the city.

"Barbara Lawton, historically, as well as our other elected officials, have been extremely positive and supportive of the greater Green Bay area, so that's what I prefer to focus on," said McNutt.

"She has spoken in Green Bay many times and has said some very nice things about Green Bay," said Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt.

Schmitt, however, said the timing of the situation is not ideal with so much national attention on the city for this weekend's football game.

"It doesn't help that there is this rift being played out in public. We want to get that to the back page and keep the good things on the front," said Schmitt.

Lawton currently has a home in Algoma, but she lived in Green Bay for more than 30 years. She said she just wants to see the best from the community, but some say her comments aren't helping.

Lawton unexpectedly dropped out of the governor's race on Monday. She refuses to give an exact reason why, only saying that it's "very personal."