Did you notice it? Did you catch the whiff of misogyny in Jordan Gaffney’s closing statement at the KFJB candidate forum? “I do believe that the voters of Marshall county should not have to sacrifice the independence of the county attorney’s office. You can’t have independence when the chief of police and the county attorney are married.” In saying this, Mr. Gaffney alleges that Sarah Tupper will not actually be the county attorney — she’ll let her husband tell her what to do and she’ll just do it. Because that’s how marriages work, right? The husband is in charge.

“When I talk about this, I’m not talking about a legally defined conflict of interest, where an attorney would have to not participate in a case. I’m talking about the values we aspire to as Americans who love democracy, and checks and balances. I’m talking about the consolidation of a lot of power into one marriage unit.”

Let’s unpack that. Mr. Gaffney admits this isn’t about legally defined conflicts of interest. So, forget what the law does or doesn’t say. This is about values. So it’s that squishy gray area of feelings. How do you feel about this? Does your good ol’ traditional American heart tell you that a woman working as county attorney won’t make good legal decisions without the help of her chief of police husband?

Truth is, some marriages do work that way. Sarah Tupper has prosecuted a lot of domestic violence cases where what the husband says, goes. Or else. But from what I’ve experienced in knowing them, that’s not how the Tuppers’ marriage works. They ARE a team, in that they support and encourage one another, defend and protect one another-which has had to happen a lot lately – and share each other’s joys and sorrows. They are public about this, and you can take that as the lovely thing it is, or turn it into something sinister. The Tuppers are also each consummate professionals, and they care about their reputation — which others have worked awfully hard to impugn.

To be fair, Mr. Gaffney didn’t seem terribly comfortable making these comments. Perhaps that’s because he doesn’t believe them, but someone told him he had to say them because that’s the only way to win. In which case, perhaps it’s not Sarah Tupper’s independence that should be questioned.