I have always refrained from making endorsements of candidates, as it violates my sense of being fair in covering local elections. However, there is a nuance; I also feel morally obligated to speak out when I see a candidate so problematic, deceptive, and unqualified for a position that disaster is almost guaranteed if they win office (former District Attorney Linda Stanley was such a candidate). The maxim is “If you see fraud, say fraud; otherwise, you condone the fraud.”
So consider this an anti-endorsement of West Custer County Hospital District Director Candidate Clifford Brown. In 2020, Clifford Brown was hired as the Custer County Public Health Director at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. His appearance in the community in this critical leadership role at just the perfect moment seemed too good to be true. His resume showed he had a Master’s Degree in Public Health, and he had worked for the U.S. Public Health Service.
But it was too good to be true. I quickly discovered his degree in Public Health from a Dartly University was completely fraudulent. Dartly University has never existed, and that fake university name was used in the late 2000s for a black market industry of fake degrees known as “degree mills.” When I brought up the fact that the new Public Health Director had faked his degree, I was met with endless hostility from the Board of County Commissioners, in particular, Commissioner Bill Canda. Despite repeated requests for Brown’s credentials from a source other than Brown, I was refused. Brown’s supporters just stated repeatedly, “he has lots of experience. The degree does not matter.”
To this day, the only thing I have been able to verify is that Brown has a Doctorate in Optometry, which he earned in 1974 (Optometrists are not Medical Doctors but are often referred to as Dr.), and that he worked as an optometrist in the Public Health Service in the 2000s on a reservation in Montana. I have no idea if he was honorably discharged, what work he actually did, and why he found it necessary to list a fake Master’s degree on his resume.
Brown resigned from the Custer County Public Health Office in 2024 when he was placed on paid leave, and the Commissioners investigated him for reasons they never explained.
Anyone who engages in academic fraud and keeps their background secret should not be a member of our hospital district.
Jordan Hedberg
There will be a Q&A with all of the candidates in this week’s Tribune in print and online.