PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Former gubernatorial candidate Ashley Kalus has reached a settlement with the Illinois contractor who distributed politically damaging text messages in 2022, and now she says she wants an apology from Gov. Dan McKee over how the episode played out.
The recent settlement between Kalus and the contractor, Michael Gruener, involves his release of vulgar and insulting texts she had allegedly sent to him during a prior business dispute over a construction project. During the campaign Kalus publicly defended the texts — in which she referred to Gruener as, among other things, “Mr. Mom” and “a bottom” — amid a drumbeat of criticism from the McKee campaign and its allies.
Kalus sued Gruener the day after the election, alleging he had violated a November 2019 settlement that resolved their business dispute. That agreement included a provision barring either side from disparaging the other publicly, including to the news media…