Lenett: Manno Harassed My Ninety-Year-Old Supporter

Senator Mike Lenett (D-19) has sent out a mass email in which one of his supporters - a ninety-year-old resident of Leisure World - alleges that she was harassed by challenger Roger Manno. Following is the email from Lenett.

Leisure World Resident Upset With Manno Tactics

Contact: Zach Gallant, 301-922-4088
August 20, 2010

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Dear [Recipient],

Silver Spring, MD--There have been many disturbing reports from constituents regarding negative campaign tactics being used by Delegate Manno and some of his allies, including false accusations by a disgruntled former employee of Mike's (the "District 19 Reporter"). We have declined to accord any dignity to such tactics, preferring instead to keep focusing on Senator Lenett's substantial record of accomplishments for his district and state. But let's at least respect folks' decisions as to who they would like to support.

Today, our campaign received the following letter from a resident of Leisure World:

I got a phone call from a campaign person today. The young lady asked me if I gave Mike Lenett a supporting quote. I said yes. The person then asked me if I allowed Mike to use my name and I again said yes. She then kept pushing me, asking me questions like "Do you remember what you said?" and "Could he have changed your words?" and such other nonsense. I didn't bother to tell this campaign person that my quote was one of many on a long list of supporters of Mike, but now I think she probably was calling everyone on the list to try to get them to retract or contradict their statements.

I felt like she was trying to put words in my mouth so I asked who she was calling for. She said Roger Manno. I then told her that she should have said who she was calling for at the beginning. She then handed the phone to Manno who obviously had been sitting right next to her the whole time.

Manno then harassed me for twenty minutes for supporting Mike, in the ugliest terms. I am 90 years old and I have never heard such horribly nasty language from any politician in the Democratic party against another Democrat in all my years, and I told him so. He then started calling Mike a liar, a cheat, and every other nasty name in the book. I was quite shocked and I am still shaking from his angry words at me. It was a vicious attack. He kept telling me that people hate Mike and tried over and over again to get me to say that I wouldn't support Mike or didn't give him a supporting quote. He told me that Ben Kramer is endorsing him for the Senate seat, but I wonder if Ben knows he is saying that to people because I've heard Ben is neutral. I don't believe anything Manno tells me. I've never been so disgusted and offended in my life.

This is the most negative, mean and nasty campaign I have ever seen in all my years. I have never heard Manno talk about anything positive--his whole campaign is to attack Mike personally. Len Teitelbaum is pushing Manno and Hank Heller was so vicious in attacking Mike for 40 minutes on a phone call he had with me that it made me sick. So Manno certainly has teamed up with those who opposed Mike's 2006 campaign and who it looks like are out for their own revenge. This is terrible, terrible politics and I never thought I would live to see this happening in the Democratic party.

We do not believe these tactics have any place in politics and hope they will stop.

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By authority of Friends of Mike Lenett; Ron Little Treasurer