Will Portage campaign tactic backfire on Dems?
Post-Tribune
Jerry Davich
October 16, 2015
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/opinion/ct-ptb-davich-political-flier-st-1019-20151016-story.html
The large, glossy political flier arrived in my mailbox with a handful of other similar fliers, but its accusatory tone immediately grabbed my attention. Just as its creators hoped it would.
"Is an indictment imminent?" the flier asks in bold black lettering.
The flier shows a dark, shadowy photo of Portage Mayor James Snyder alongside bullet-point accusations of an alleged investigation into his City Hall office by federal prosecutors.
"Portage cannot afford another four years with James Snyder as mayor," the flier concludes.
At the bottom, in fine print: "Authorized and paid for by the Porter County Democratic Party."
Surprised? Of course not. Snyder is a Republican incumbent hoping to stay in office against his Democratic challenger, Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy. Clancy's party obviously believes the flier will benefit their Democratic candidate's chances of winning the city's mayor's office in the Nov. 3 General Election.
I'm not so sure.
I posted a photo of the flier on my social media sites to gauge public opinion, asking a simple question: Is this typical politics in action or is this going over the line?
The responses were divided by partisan political lines, as expected, but the majority of readers (aka voters) believed it crossed the line into shady campaign tactics.
"I may not like (Snyder) but that's a low blow," wrote Heather K.
"This propaganda is disgusting," added Rozana B.
"Absolutely disgusting they would spend so much to tarnish the competition by repeating known unfounded allegations," said Shannon R. "They must be getting desperate."
No, countered Jeremy S., adding, "Being investigated by the FBI as a public official definitely should be made known."
But no formal investigation has been announced or confirmed by the feds, as others noted.
"That is the way the Republicans have been doing it and no one said anything then," noted Diane B.
Yes, true, but it doesn't make it the right thing to do. Nor does it make it the smart thing to do, at least in my book.
Last fall, just before Election Day, Porter County Republicans took a similar jab at the Democratic candidate for sheriff, David Reynolds. Like most voters, I thought it appeared strictly as a last-ditch campaign tactic, not relevant or informational.
The Republican Party filed a complaint with the election board, claiming Reynolds didn't properly itemize donations he received during a fundraising golf outing.
"They made this an emergency meeting to get it in the papers this weekend," Reynolds told me before Election Day.
It worked. The filed complaint made the newspapers, but it also made the Republican Party look bad, I wrote. And most voters would agree with me regardless if they voted for Reynolds or his Republican opponent, Valparaiso Police Chief Mike Brickner.
Filed just a few days before the primary, that complaint "reeks of politics," Reynolds said. He was right. This is precisely what irks voters and what keeps non-voters from registering to vote, let alone getting off their butt to cast a ballot.
Voters are forced to wade through the knee-high muck of politics to choose candidates they believe will do the right thing once in office. This latest campaign flier also reeks of politics.
Snyder agrees.
"Portage is winning and Portage critics and opponents can't stand it," he told me.
"We will continue to run a campaign that represents the hard-working men and women of Portage, including worn shoe leather, calloused knuckles and a hoarse voice from walking, knocking on doors and talking to the good people of this city," he said.
"I don't need to go negative because my record and the accomplishments of Portage can be seen and felt by every Portage resident," Snyder concluded.
For the record, Clancy said he had nothing to do with the flier, which was created, produced and distributed by the county's Democratic Party.
"Quite frankly, I think it's informational," he told me, noting he gave no permission for the creation of the flier. "I don't think it's slanderous or a smear campaign."
Clancy has distanced himself from the flier, insisting his home-stretch campaign is still founded on his award-winning accomplishments as Portage Township Trustee and his mayoral plans for Portage.
"My job as a candidate is to talk about my past accomplishments and my future plans," he said. "I think my record speaks for itself."
In May, Clancy easily beat longtime Portage real estate developer Leo Hatch Jr., garnering more than 80 percent of primary voters. In his acceptance speech, the former City Councilman told supporters he would run his campaign with "class, dignity, honor and respect."
Those four words were not illustrated in any form on that political flier, regardless who created it. Instead, I suggest voters look for these admirable words during Wednesday night's Portage mayoral debate at Portage High School. Hosted by the League of Women Voters, the "Meet the Candidates" debate begins at 6 p.m. in the PHS west auditorium.
Both candidates will discuss the issues, not rumorous indictments. Action plans, not accusations. Platform promises, not political fliers.
Election Day is already like a masquerade ball and voters are the naked guests trying to figure out who is who behind the masks of lies, complaints and allegations.
Similar to last fall's election for county sheriff, I believe such campaign tactics do more harm than good in the big picture. Candidates – and their supporters at the county level – need to know this, too.
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