Where did mill levy text come from?

Politically motivated message appears associated with figure nationally known for allegedly questionable behavior

SUNDANCE — A politically motivated text message that was distributed widely within this the community does not appear to have local origins. 

The text argued against the Crook County School District’s proposed new mill levy for recreation and included the personal phone number of the chairman of the Board of Trustees. 

According to Mark Koep, Chairman of the Crook County Republican Party, some who received the message assumed the source must be local, and this led to false accusations against people who were, he said, acting in good faith to oppose the measure. 

This included Koep and the Crook County Republican Party itself. 

However, the message states that it was paid for by “Democracy Rising, Inc.” and was not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. 

The name bears a close resemblance to a better-known organization: Democracy Rising, a foundation created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar to issue funds in support of an “inclusive, multiracial democracy.” 

However, the information for Democracy Rising, Inc. places its origin in Dublin, Ohio and lists its point of contact as Thomas Datwyler of Hudson, Wisconsin. 

Datwyler is a well-known name in national news. He is the only promoted employee of 9Seven Consulting, a company that claims to provide accounting, reporting and compliance services for “private businesses and campaigns with less than $10 million in revenue in the political industry.” 

It lists numerous political action committees as clients, as well as congressional campaigns and political parties. Datwyler said in his bio that he has been the treasurer for numerous state and federal campaigns and has “extensive experience” with FEC compliance and reporting, contribution processing and record keeping. He allegedly began his career as a finance intern at the 2008 Republican National Convention and holds a business finance and accounting degree from Bethany Lutheran College. 

Perhaps more pertinently, Datwyler’s name has appeared in a slew of news articles over the past few years. 

For example, The Hill reported around a year ago that Datwyler had been accused of wire fraud by a Republican super-PAC in Nevada called the Conservative Nevada Leadership PAC. Datwyler was accused of using the PAC’s funds to write a $500 check after stepping down as treasurer in a complaint that states he has, “A long history of running roughshod over campaign finance law and the regulations of the [Federal Election Commission (FEC)].” 

As a board member of “Liberty Ohio Inc.,” the Ohio Capital Journal reported in 2021 that correspondence from Datwyler had been subpoenaed in a lawsuit associated with the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal, which involved allegations that FirstEnergy had paid $60 million to a nonprofit controlled by the Speaker of the House in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion bailout for the company. 

NBC News reported in 2023 that the FEC requested information from the George Santos campaign after Datwyler was listed as his campaign treasurer, but campaign officials denied he had taken the job. 

21 News, Wisconsin, reported two months ago that Datwyler was the treasurer of a group called “Protect Our Valley Taxpayers,” which was sending messages singling out officials including a county commission, county auditor and the chair of the Columbiana County Democratic Party. 

An FEC filing from December, 2022, names Datwyler as the treasurer for Citizens for Josh Mandel, Inc. and holds him accountable for failing to file campaign contributions. The PAC was fined $15,080. 21 News also reports that Datwyler was the treasurer of “Dan Cox for Congress” in Maryland, which supported Cox as a candidate though he had not filed to run. 

The Frederick News-Post of Maryland reported in 2023 that FEC records indicate Datwyler had paid over $20,000 in administrative fines for committees in which he had been found to have violated campaign finance reporting requirements. 

These include Joe Kent for Congress in Washington, Rodney for Congress in Illinois and Friends of McCormick in Georgia. In addition, the newspaper reports that a campaign for U.S. Sen Susan Collins of Maine, for which he served as treasurer, was the subject of an FBI investigation that resulted in the prosecution of three government contractors for illegal campaign contributions. 

Datwyler is also not new to Wyoming politics.

On the Federal Election Commission’s website, he is listed as the custodian of records and treasurer for principal campaign committee “Reid Rasner for WY”. For locals who take an interest in the politics of this community, Koep said a text message coming from outside interests is troubling. 

“We support free expression, political engagement and transparency,” he said. “Our concern is not with the fact that political discourse occurred, but that it was done anonymously, under a name shared by two unrelated organizations, and led to false accusations against community members acting in good faith.” 

The Sundance Times reached out to Datwyler at 9Seven Consulting and through his listed email address to ask how he heard about the mill levy issue and why he chose to become involved. As of press time, Datwyler had not responded.

This story was published on June 5, 2025.