Puke Politics

How do we counter sleaze in local politics?

The Other Side by Kelvin Wade
November 05, 2009 12:08PM

So does someone really believe that what it takes for political victory in Fairfield is popping online masquerading as your own supporters heaping praise on yourself, flat-out lies, and last-minute anonymous attack mailers?

It's a shame that someone or someone's supporters felt they couldn't compete on ideas, on solutions, on enthusiasm and experience and decided to go the Tonya Harding route.

What integrity-deficient politician would stoop to such low last-minute dirty tricks?

So, whoever sent out those two anonymous, last-minute, lying attack mailers, was it worth it? I would ask if he or she is proud of their part in sustaining the politics of anything goes but the fact they didn't have the stones to place their John Hancock on their work says it all.

It's honorable that most City Council candidates either signed a pledge or agreed verbally that if it is found they or their campaign was behind this last-minute, anonymous attack mailers they will resign their council seat if they win. And it's up to voters to hold them to that.

For any candidate who didn't make such a pledge, you're still going to be held to that standard. A person who would do this isn't fit to serve.

So what's the harm done? The turnout was meager. Many people voted by absentee ballot so they wouldn't have been affected by any last-minute mailers.

The mailer could've changed some votes. We won't know. There were more than 2,200 undervotes where voters failed to select two candidates for City Council. How many of those were deliberate? Did some voters just figure a pox on all the candidates and not vote? Did the sleazy tactics suppress the vote?

Beyond those questions, what happens next time if someone decides to put out an anonymous mailer alleging personal misconduct? What if there are last-minute anonymously delivered false allegations that Candidate X is a serial philanderer, mentally unbalanced, a pedophile or drug user?

It's why the perpetrator(s) of these mailers should pay a high public price.

One way out of this is that more and more people will have to vote absentee. Shrink the pool of people who could be affected by last-minute mailers and they not only become less effective but less cost effective.

Of course the peril of voting early and locking in your vote is one's candidate may drop out, commit a horrible gaffe or become embroiled in a legitimate scandal. Or a voter may change his or her mind.

We've got to take away the audience for these scandalous mailers. At least it will help force the slime balls to send this garbage out earlier when it can be responded to.

Or voters can do what I do. Political mailers go straight from my mailbox to the trash can outside and never come into the house. Spam is spam, whether it's in my inbox or mailbox.

Remember, vote absentee, discard mailers and when the perpetrators of anonymous attack ads are revealed, show them the contempt that they've shown our political system. Peace.