Observers say blogger has tie to county government

When the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department shared information recently with the county administrator's office about a funding opportunity, Sheriff John P. Burns never expected to see those details on a local blog within hours.

"There were parts of that communication that only myself and county administration had knowledge of," Mr. Burns said. "Yet the full report was on Political IV."

Those unpublicized details, the sheriff said, included the amount that the state Office of Homeland Security was willing to give the county to add a bomb-sniffing dog, and what expenses the agency was willing to cover.

Following this incident, the sheriff said, he became convinced that the anonymous scribe behind the blog is "somebody from county government or associated with county government." He is not the only one who believes the blog's author has strong ties to county administration.

After Political IV broke news that Watertown resident Jerry O. Eaton would be nominated as the county's new Republican elections commissioner, Ezra S. "Ted" Ford speculated on the author's identity on his blog, Danger Democrat.

"We understand from a pretty reliable source that the 'IV' man is none other than Watertown florist and Jefferson County Legislator Scott Gray," wrote Mr. Ford, LaFargeville.

Asked about that post this week, Mr. Ford said the Eaton announcement "was written in the Scott Gray style and was exactly what Scott Gray thinks" but added that he was "largely guessing" on the blogger's identity.

Mr. Gray, R-Watertown, was asked in early April if he was affiliated with Political IV.

"I know who it is," the legislator responded. He would neither confirm nor deny any involvement. Reached again this week, Mr. Gray said he would not discuss the blog.

Mr. Ford and others interviewed about Political IV said they believe that Mr. Gray is involved, but that he is likely not the blog's sole author.

"It might be a couple of people that are connected," Mr. Ford said. "The writing style is pretty good, so it may be a professional writer. It may be someone who was with or currently has a position within existing media."

Mr. Ford said the blog demonstrates some "very intact" sources within the county Legislature. "Somebody is really connected," he said.

Robert F. Hagemann III, county administrator, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

While the guessing game continues, five locals with interests in politics have denied any involvement: Watertown Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham, county Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, Legislators Philip N. Reed, R-Fishers Landing, and James Nabywaniec, R-Calcium, and former Legislator Paul J. Warneck, who is now county director of real property services.

The person purporting to be the author of Political IV contacted the Watertown Daily Times via e-mail after Mr. Ford "outed" Mr. Gray.

"Ted is guessing," the March 26 e-mail said.

The Times responded: "Why the anonymity? Allow us to explain to readers why you won't publicly identify yourself."

There was no reply.

Now Jefferson County's best known blogger, Mr. Ford initially tried to write Danger Democrat under a pseudonym.

"That lasted a month before I thought: 'This is stupid. Everyone knows it's me,'" he said.

Mr. Ford, a former county Democratic Committee chairman, said he believes that blogs penned by anonymous writers tend to be distrusted more.

"There's something more credible if you know the yay-hoo who's writing it," he said. "I'm not particularly fond of the anonymity of Political IV. I respect it and understand it. There's probably a good reason why IV is unknown."

His progressive viewpoint long unchallenged, Mr. Ford said he believes Political IV was created as "the antidote to Danger Democrat."

Although IV has billed itself as the "independent voice of reason," Mr. Ford said, the blog often espouses a conservative Republican viewpoint.

"I just think that they saw that quite a few people were reading Danger Democrat and it didn't express their point of view, and they wanted their point of view heard," Mr. Ford said. "I'm in favor of that. It gives me someone to pick on."

Instead of drowning out Danger Democrat, Mr. Ford said, he believes the presence of a counterpoint has increased his readership. The site, its owner said, is averaging about 400 hits per day.

Mr. Ford, 67, also has intensified his pace. He is averaging about four posts per day since Political IV debuted; he created about 2.7 posts per day before the other blog existed.

"My overall mission is to get people interested in perusing the Internet to find independent viewpoints," he said. "It's a passion for me and it's obviously a passion for IV. And I think IV does it well."