Second Scandal Rocks Calendar Release Season

First there was the risque Mormon Muffins calendar scandal. Now, Mayor Matt Harter of La Crosse, Wisconsin finds himself embroiled in a steamy calendar scandal.

La Crosse radio station WRQT, 95.7, 'The Rock' knows that sex sells. Not altogether surprising considering their target audience is males age 18 to 34. The Rock Foundation, their charitable wing, uses sex to raise funds. They sponsor wet t-shirt contests, bikini car washes, and an annual calendar the La Crosse Tribune describes as "a dozen Coulee Region women sprawled across tractors, pool tables and boats." On the other hand a Coulee Region forum contributor noted, "Go to the beach and you see the exact same things that are in the calender......sheesh!" La Crosse Mayor Mathias Harter's problem is that he agreed to appear on the cover, a decision that met with outrage amongst a significant segment of the mayor's constituents. Jodi Vandenberg-Daves, professor and co-chairwoman of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, described the images as “extremely sexually suggestive” in the La Crosse Tribune. Concluding, “Our hope is that he would reconsider whether he wants to be associated with these kind of images, considering there are so many more positive ways to honor women in our community,” The mayor's response to the criticism has been to claim he had no idea that the calendar contained sexually suggestive photographs. He told the Tribune, that he posed for the photo, later signed some copies, but never actually looked inside at the calendar.

City of La Crosse

La Crosse Mayor Mathias Harter

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The mayor's constituents, many old enough to be his mother, do not seem to be buying that. The following quotes are not exhaustive but they are representative:

As a mother of a 25-year old son I have to say only one thing: I feel bad for Matt Harter that the public is watching him as he goes to the bathroom calendar in his hand....

He probably knew what the calendar was about and didn't see anything wrong with it until people started complaining, so now he's trying to be a Bill Clinton... just admit to the truth... gets ya in a lot less trouble.

What bugs me about this is his lying. I straight up don't believe he didn't know what sort of calendars those are.... I wouldn't think it was a big deal.... But claiming he didn't know what was in the calendar means he's either lying or stupid and I don't think either of those is fitting his position as mayor.

Speaking to the Tribune the mayor was ambivalent, apologetic but unrepentant. “I guess there are going to be people who feel the way they feel,” Harter said. “I don’t think the intention of the people that produce the calendar — or the intention of myself — was to offend anybody. The only intention was to support charity.”