Dana Dembrow was elected to a District 20 House seat in 1986 and spent many years fighting with the rest of his delegation, which included Senator Ida Ruben and Delegates Sheila Hixson and Peter Franchot. All three wanted him gone, but they could not figure out how to get rid of him. Finally, Dembrow committed a critical mistake: he was arrested for hitting his wife. Right before the primary, this mailer featuring his mug shot and other like-minded lit swamped the district and Dembrow finally lost. After the election, campaign finance reports revealed that the rest of the delegation spent thousands of dollars on the lit. This piece has gone down as possibly the single most effective negative mailer in the history of Montgomery County.
Showing posts with label Negative Campaigning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Negative Campaigning. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Mailer That Ended Dana Dembrow's Career, 2002
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Pinocchio Mailer, 1998
The Seven Dwarfs are not the only Disney characters to appear in MoCo political mail. In 1998, Democratic District 15 House challenger David Dashefsky invoked Pinocchio in this mailer attacking GOP incumbent Richard LaVay. Dashefsky lost to LaVay by 577 votes but the mailer lives on.
Gansler Guns for Dean, 1998
Montgomery County State's Attorney Robert Dean, appointed in 1996 to replace Andrew Sonner, had two problems in his election campaign. First, he was embroiled in an embarrassing sex scandal with a subordinate complete with love poems. Second, he was opposed by one of the most aggressive politicians in MoCo's history: federal prosecutor Doug Gansler. Gansler let the press handle the sex scandal, but he took on Dean's prosecutorial decisions and his alleged tendency to campaign with tax dollars directly. We reprint those lit pieces below. Gansler won in the primary by twelve points.
There's a lesson here for anyone thinking of running for Governor in four years. If you are in a campaign against Doug Gansler and you make a mistake, YOU LOSE.
"Mistakes Can be Deadly"
"Chicago"
Friday, November 19, 2010
Elrich Blasts Berlage, 1998
Council Member Marc Elrich finished first in this year's at-large primary, but he had to travel a long, hard road to get there. Elrich ran for the District 5 council seat in 1990 and 1998 and at-large in 1994 and 2002 before finally winning in 2006. Perhaps his toughest race was in 1998 against District 5 incumbent Derick Berlage, whom Elrich labeled a "total hypocrite" for changing his position to accept developer contributions. Here's a mailer Elrich sent out criticizing Berlage's attendance record and his operating a law practice on the side. Berlage won the primary by a 7,954 to 6,422 vote.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Domestic Violence Victim Takes on Simmons
Amy Castillo is a MoCo pediatrician who unsuccessfully tried to get a final protective order against her abusive husband, who later drowned her three children. Castillo testified before the House Judiciary Committee in support of a bill sponsored by Delegate Sue Hecht (D-3A) and Senator Jennie Forehand (D-17) that would have made it easier for abuse victims to obtain protective orders. Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17) went after Castillo at the hearing and the committee killed the bill. Now Castillo is endorsing Simmons's Republican opponent, Dan Campos, in this mailer.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Campos Goes After Simmons on Domestic Violence
Republican District 17 House candidate Dan Campos has sent out the mailer below going after Democratic Delegate Luiz Simmons on domestic violence. Simmons is running on that issue, but Campos reminds voters of his introduction of the abuser expungement bill and his vote against a bill that would have made it easier for abuse victims to get protective orders. These sorts of votes are a big reason why Montgomery County NOW and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland have endorsed Campos instead of Simmons despite Campos's running as a Republican.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Meanest MoCo Primary of All Time, Part Two
Montgomery County is a special place. Its enlightened voters and their leaders are dedicated social progressives who work in harmony to promote justice and change. By standing together against reactionary elements, Montgomery County serves as a model for other liberal communities and is leading the way to a better future for all.
Yeah, riiight!
Deprived of competition from the GOP and, for the most part, meaningful policy differences, many of MoCo’s primaries have degenerated into slime-drenched mud wrestling. This blog has chronicled negative attacks in Council District 1, Council District 2, the Council At-Large race, the Senate races in Districts 14, 17, 19 and 39 and the House race in District 16. That’s the majority of contested primaries in this county, folks. Almost every kind of issue, and every means to convey it, has been thrown onto the butcher’s table for split and splatter. Party unity is an old maid’s dream as the daggers are drawn and the Iron Maidens are snapped shut. Somewhere in Dante’s Inferno, Lee Atwater is flapping his wings with glee.
In all the blood-soaked infamy, three events stand out from the rest. These are the three wildest negative attacks of the year, and three of the most unforgettable in MoCo of all time. Start your chainsaws!
The District 19 Reporter
Perhaps no MoCo character assassin has ever had a longer knife than Ginger Ramsey, a former employee of Senator Mike Lenett’s who started a one-person jihad to take him down a year ago. Ramsey’s efforts began as the anonymous “District 19 Reporter,” a venomous Lenett critic who sent out periodic emails skewering him on an endless variety of topics. Frustrated that she had not broken through to the press and fearful that she was viewed as a creation of challenger Roger Manno, Ramsey finally unmasked herself and was covered by the Gazette.
As Lenett’s former legislative aide, Ramsey was certainly in a position to know about his sins. But her year-long practice of using anonymous emails and her mixing in items like Lenett’s hair coloring and references to his children destroyed any credibility she may have had. Ramsey’s bitterly personal rantings actually made Lenett, who has since proven himself as one of the state’s most brutal politicians, appear to be something of a sympathetic figure. But that would not last.
Mike Lenett’s Nuke
Late in the campaign, we believed Lenett had a slight edge over Manno. He had dramatically outspent Manno and shared both a district and an Apple Ballot with former MCEA President Bonnie Cullison – thereby indirectly benefiting from the union’s efforts to elect her. Manno had struggled to concoct a rationale for Lenett’s removal and had sent out a comical negative mailer that looked like it might backfire in Leisure World. And Lenett did nothing to stop the rumors that the “District 19 Reporter” was a part of Manno’s campaign team – a totally unverifiable allegation that nevertheless helped the incumbent.
But Mike Lenett does nothing halfway, a personality trait that is both a blessing and a curse. And so to secure victory, he launched what will forever be known in MoCo as “the Nuke,” a fearsome website listing every single speck of dirt his operatives had dug up on Manno. Some of the points made by the Nuke were legitimate, such as questions about Manno’s ethics form disclosures. But they were peppered with purely personal criticisms of Manno’s original name, his history tending bar and playing blues and his wife’s professional career. The legitimate material was submerged by outrage against the personal attacks. And Lenett lost whatever sympathy he had earned as the victim of the District 19 Reporter. The race has gone from a leaner for Lenett to a toss-up that Manno could conceivably pull out.
Light Saqib, Dark Saqib
The original purpose of Senator Nancy King’s sixth anti-Saqib Ali mailer was to point out that Ali was no longer abiding by his 2006 pledge to not take PAC money. Indeed, Ali said on his website: I have pledged not to accept a single penny from any corporation or special interest Political Action Committee (PAC). It is the only course that will allow me to remain completely independent of special interests and entirely focused on the best interests of District 39 citizens and business owners. I urge my opponents to take a similar pledge.
Going after a politician for abandoning a campaign finance pledge is 100% legitimate. We have done that ourselves, notably when we spanked County Council candidate Ben Kramer HARD for violating his pledge not to take developer money last year. But then someone inside the King campaign made the disastrous decision to flip and darken an image of Ali and leave it on the same mailer page as the original image. That led several commenters, including Kim Propeack, Oscar Ramirez, Guled Kassim, Sam Arora and Council Member Valerie Ervin, to question that action. King’s campaign manager compounded the mistake by denying ANY photo alteration, a claim that no one viewing the pictures could ever believe. And King herself made it even worse by contradicting her manager.
And so an entirely legitimate argument against Ali has been eclipsed by suspicions of ill intent and serious questions about the credibility of King’s campaign. Now that the story has been picked up by the Washington Post, the Huffington Post and Fox 5 News, the image below has been immortalized in MoCo political folklore and as part of Senator King’s political legacy.
What do all three of the negative attacks above share in common? All of them may have had at least a tiny bit of truth buried under the sludge. But all went overboard through illegitimate methods (like anonymous emails or altered photos) or irrelevant personal attacks that looked petty and mean. Let this serve as a lesson for any candidate looking to go negative: make sure your facts are iron-clad and appropriate for consideration by the voters, and NEVER let problems with their mode of conveyance overwhelm the legitimate message they contain.
Four years from now, we’ll find out if the candidates learn anything from the mud-spewing hell pit of 2010. We are not optimistic that they will, but at least it will make for fun blogging!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Decision Time in District 19
By Mike Hersh.
As Americans memorialized September 11th, many politicians neatly separate into two categories. Those who call for acceptance and cooperation, and those who exploit fear, mistrust and prejudice. In the District 19 Senate contest, Roger Manno is running a positive, issues-based campaign saying"leadership takes teamwork." Sadly, Mike Lenett is running a dirty campaign unprecedented in Montgomery County history. This according to History Professor Allan Lichtman, who noted that Lenett is making a "blatant appeal to ethnic prejudice," adding, "With some justice, Manno has countered by accusing Lenett of having taken county politics 'into the gutter like no other candidate before him.'"
District 19 has a long-standing tradition for civility. Lenett is out of step with this tradition. Recently, Former Sen. Len Teitelbaum called Lenett's campaign "a terrible distortion of facts, and a clear indication of the desperation of Lenett's campaign. This kind of extreme divisive behavior is exactly why every former elected legislator from District 19 who has endorsed, and the Gazette and Washington Post newspapers, have ALL endorsed Roger Manno for State Senate." Lenett is carpet-bombing constituents' mailboxes implying gang members and criminals support Manno, using faked news clippings, even attacking Manno's wife and the candidate. The Gazette determined Lenett is a "divisive force" and confirms the Washington Post's reporting that Lenett "undermines his own effectiveness" by "alienating" his colleagues. By contrast, Roger Manno achieved remarkable success on bills and reforms benefiting Maryland on healthcare, employment, access to prescription medicines for seniors, non-discrimination, organic farming, protecting seniors from fraud, and earning the respect of his colleagues. Please see: http://www.gazette.net/stories/09012010/montedi180547_32533.php and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202584.html
Maryland Politics Watch reported factual errors--if not out-right misrepresentations--in a recent Lenett mailer: "What Lenett does not say ... is that Manno also favors gun control." MPW also reported that "A secretive independent mailing sent into District 19 is in apparent violation of Maryland campaign finance law ... is linked to a union that has endorsed one of the competing Senate candidates." That candidate is Lenett. As MPW observes, "The mailer appears to be illegal in multiple ways." See: http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2010/09/lenett-manno-trade-fire-on-guns.html and http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2010/09/union-linked-to-independent-expenditure.html
The Gazette quoted insiders describing Lenett's lack of effectiveness: "Colleague problems ... A bill sponsored by him is often the kiss of death ... Maniacal and untrustworthy." There were a few positive quotes as well, but the Gazette took those into account and still named Lenett one of the ten least effective legislators in the entire General Assembly--including the Republicans who are in the minority in both houses and on every committee. See: http://www.gazette.net/thelist/repinfo.php?id=102
Lenett claims he is an environmental superstar, but the record shows Lenett's SB 710 delayed anti-pollution protections for the Bay and he voted against Sen. Frosh's legislation to fine polluters who violate the law Lenett's bill delayed. Lenett excuses his pro-phosphates bill claiming other states were enacting legislation later on. So what? Maryland had already passed it! As The Washington Post reported: "Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery) said that pushing the effective date of the ban from January 2010 to July 2010 would 'add up to 15,000 pounds of phosphates to Bay waters.' 'Phosphates are particularly pernicious because they end up stored in sediments,' wrote Frosh, who sponsored legislation last year authorizing the ban. 'Once in the Bay, the phosphates resulting from [Lenett's bill] will be available for years to fuel the algal blooms that each summer day destroy oxygen in the Bay's deep waters and threaten underwater grasses in the shallows.' The bill allowing the delay, sponsored by Sen. Michael G. Lenett (D-Montgomery), passed the Senate 25 to 22 after heavy lobbying from Proctor & Gamble. ... Lenett agreed to sponsor the bill at the request of the industry...." Please see: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/04/frosh_veto_phosphate_ban_delay.html
Should Marylanders limit ourselves to what other states do? That's what Lenett's bill said. Once a politician starts siding with big out-of-state special interests against Maryland voters, where does it end? Will Lenett decide Montgomery County Maryland schools should be like Montgomery Alabama's? Will he help powerful interests turn back the clock on living wage or safety standards? Hopefully after this Tuesday we won't have to risk Lenett reversing hard-won progress. Whenever a Manno bill passes, we're better off. With a Lenett bill, it's a big (Proctor &) Gamble.
When the bill Manno co-authored with NOW President Terry O'Neill to protect women from deceptive "crisis pregnancy centers" couldn't get traction in Annapolis, Manno worked with Montgomery County leaders and the Council to get it passed here. The League of Conservation Voters, Environment Maryland and the Sierra Club asked Manno to sponsor HB 522, their priority legislation in 2010. When it stalled in the General Assembly, Manno worked with the O'Malley Administration on an executive order which directs the Public Service Commission to plan Maryland's clean energy needs. A huge triumph for those of us concerned about clean energy, global warming, and making Maryland a leader in the 21st century energy economy. This is typical Manno--when he hits a roadblock on an important issue, he finds another way to make progress for Maryland.
Manno is more adept at getting important bills passed into law than Lenett. A few examples: In 2009 Manno's Green Jobs bill helped Maryland secure a $5.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. Manno's 2009 "Apprenticeship Opportunities Act" (HB 644) created a partnership between businesses, community colleges, and existing programs for green jobs. Manno's Maryland Organic Transition Investment Pilot Program passed after he worked with Capitol Hill to bring $millions in support to Maryland. Then he improved and extended MOTIPP. It's one thing to vote the right way when people are watching (and scoring). It's better to be the difference-maker. Manno drove progress on key issues, and that makes him a better leader.
While Lenett raised more money than Manno, he's "loaned" most of that to himself, and spent it at an incredible rate by printing enough walk pieces and massive mailers to clear cut a forest! Some environmentalist! With his extravagant imagination and taste for the melodramatic, Lenett has a future as a writer for a show like 24. After all, Lenett has to pay himself back the approximately half million dollars he loaned himself trying to re-buy that Senate seat, right?
Lenett boasts of several endorsements. Ask his endorsers, and--if they're honest--they'll admit they're forced by protocol to back any half-way decent incumbent. Now, many of those endorsers probably wish they could take it back. They should. None of the rubber-stamp gang endorsed Jamie Raskin before the primary in 2006, but they all scrambled to get on his bandwagon after he won the primary. Expect the same to happen this year in the Manno vs. Lenett contest.
Roger Manno is an especially good challenger, and Mike Lenett is an unusually bad incumbent. That's why The Washington Post, The Gazette, Del. Hank Heller, Former Sen. Len Teitelbaum, Del. Adrienne Mandel, Del. Carol Petzold, County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, Chair of the Education Committee, Del. Sue Hecht, Chair of the Maryland Green Caucus, Del. Brian Feldman, Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation, Del. Susan Lee, Vice-Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation, Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, Del. Aisha Braveboy, Mrs. Cherri Branson, Chair of the African American Democratic Club of Montgomery County, the Municipal County Government Employee Organization, Progressive Neighbors, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, Montgomery Green Democrats, Montgomery County Public School Retiree Association, Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats, Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, Montgomery County Youth Slate, Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County, and dozens of others endorse Manno. See: http://www.rogermanno.com/contact/index.cfm?Fuseaction=contact
Manno is a progressive we can trust to do the right thing when people are watching, in the back rooms, all the time, every day--to serve the public interest, not special interests. NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland and Progressive Maryland among others took endorsements away from Lenett and gave them to Manno, because Manno stood with them while Lenett let them down. It's hard to not get an endorsement as an incumbent, so each one Manno won is a failing grade for the incumbent and a huge vote of confidence for the challenger. These endorsements all buck the "back the incumbent" habit.
Lenett claims the Mannos "lied under oath" by filing amended financial reportss. This although Lenett himself was forced to amend his filings several times. According to official state records, 6 of Lenett's reports are marked "agency requested amend" and 3 of those are not marked "Amend." Are there 3 outstanding unamended Lenett reports dating back to 2007? Also, 3 reports are marked "Deficiency." Lenett amended his 2010 Pre-Primary 1 report, 2009 Annual report, 2008 Annual report, and 2006 Post General Report. Please see: http://www.mdelections.org/campaign-finance/advanced-search/detailed-committee-information?acctno=A4366
Lenett cited a statement from William G. Somerville, Ethics Advisor to the General Assembly that explains, "Delegate Manno filed incomplete ethics reports." So what? Nothing supports Lenett's accusations against Manno. Mr. Somerville explained: "Delegate Manno's wife's employment was appropriately disclosed to the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, in a timely manner and as a matter of public record. Her employment was also disclosed to the State Ethics Commission, and any discrepancies were appropriately corrected at Delegate Manno's own initiation. It is not infrequent for officials to amend their disclosure statements. Delegate Manno brought this matter to the State Ethics Commission's attention on his own volition, and it is clear from the record that Delegate Manno did not have any intention to conceal information. In addition, it is my understanding from the State Ethics Commission that Delegate Manno was not required to list any leasehold interests that his wife may hold in which Delegate Manno does not hold an attributable interest, which is the situation in this case."
Unlike Lenett, Manno took the initiative amending his reports. Lenett was asked for amendments from the State Board of Elections several times, and at times ignored the requests. Was Lenett "lying under oath" to the State Board of Elections "four times in four years?" According to the standard Lenett imposes on others, the answer is "yes!" Misrepresenting Manno's voluntary compliance into a "cover-up" is as absurd as Lenett implying Manno's playing bass and bartending bar is un-American activity.
Pro-Lenett push-polling delivered attacks against Manno under the guise of gathering information. An MPW source reported: "My wife got surveyed yesterday. She's pretty sure it was Lenett's poll, based on the nature of the questions. Questions focused on Lenett/Manno, no mention of Leggett, O'Malley...." Please see: http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2010/08/manno-alleges-push-poll-by-lenett.html
A Letter to the Editor from Ruth Burgos-Sasscer explained: "I live in Leisure World and have attended forums where candidates for Maryland State Senate Mike Lenett and Roger Manno have spoken, and have been impressed with both men. I have been leaning toward Roger Manno but until recently had not really decided for whom to vote. The other day I was asked to participate in a telephone 'opinion poll survey,' which I agreed to do.... When the interviewer then asked 'Did you know that Roger Manno ...' and went into a litany of negative statements about him, I immediately stopped her. I said that I would not continue with the interview because I believed it was a deceitful and unethical campaign tactic in support of Mike Lenett and wanted no part of it. I also told her that her efforts were counterproductive because she had just convinced me that Roger Manno is by far the better candidate to represent District 19 in the Maryland State Senate." Please see: http://www.gazette.net/stories/08252010/montlet173358_32545.php
Blogger Keith Berner writes: "...Mike Lenett has gone where only the most shameless GOP race-baiters gather. Desperate to hold off a serious challenge from Roger Manno [Lenett] is riffing on the fact that Manno's legal first name used to be 'Rajah.' Just in case the implication that Manno is a (gasp!) Muslim out to undermine the American way of life isn't clear enough ... the graphic from Lenett's latest mailer [has] an uncanny resemblance the rendering of Manno's former first name has to a terrorist demand letter! ... I call on all District 19 voters to reject, resoundingly, fear-mongering and racism. In fact, all Marylanders should denounce Lenett and make clear that his behavior is completely unwelcome here. Vote for Roger Manno on Tuesday to make abundantly clear that Mike Lenett's politics and way of thinking have no place in Maryland." Please see: "Lenett the Fear-Monger, Lenett the Bigot" http://lefthandview.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/09-10-10-lenett-the-fear-monger-lennet-the-bigot/
Smart politicians don't go negative unless they're losing, and don't go this negative unless they're losing badly. Others believe Lenett has never come to grips a challenge for what he considers "his" seat, based on Lenett's first public reactions to Manno's challenge. Lenett questions Manno's right to run, even though Lenett decided to challenge then-Senator Len Teitelbaum for the seat while he recuperated from a medical procedure. As MPW noted: "In his end of session letter, [Lenett] includes a ... thinly-veiled slam on ... Manno," In Lenett's words, "The Democratic Party could take a cue from the Republicans...." Please see: http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2010/04/lenett-unloads-on-manno.html
As Oscar T. Ramirez wrote, "Candidates who use fear as a political strategy have no place in our politics. ... Be afraid because Roger used to be Rajah and who knows what else Rajah has to hide! ... I hope voters on Tuesday will think about what Bill Clinton said a few years ago: 'If one candidate is trying to scare you, and the other one is trying to get you to think. If one candidate is appealing to your fears, and the other one is appealing to your hope. You better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope.'" Please see: http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-blow-up-mailbox.html?showComment=1284164333447#c6858616559308001238
District 19 Democrats have a clear choice for State Senate on Tuesday. They can vote for Roger Manno's leadership through teamwork--a hard-working, accomplished and ethical legislator they can be proud of-- or they can go along with a push-polling, swift-boating, spouse-attacking, race-baiting, Proctor & Gambling, truth-twisting, colleague-alienating, Bay-polluting, seat-buying, ineffective, divisive, incumbent who's embarrassed them before and will let them down again. Vote for Roger Manno.
Hopkins Contrast Mailer Misleads on Ambulance Fee
Council District 1 challenger Ilaya Hopkins has released this contrast mailer asserting that incumbent Roger Berliner supported the ambulance fee “as part of 2010 budget.” That’s true, but it’s also misleading.
Berliner has voted twice against the ambulance fee in full council session – once in 2009 and again in 2010. Berliner did vote for the most recent county budget that included the ambulance fee (over his opposition), but so did two other Council Members who voted against the fee: Nancy Navarro and Valerie Ervin. All three have been endorsed by the Volunteer Fire Fighters, who are the biggest opponents of the ambulance fee in the county.
We’re not saying Berliner is perfect. His record, along with that of almost every other council incumbent, has some problems. But when a candidate includes a misleading criticism along with more legitimate points, it undermines that candidate’s entire message. So it is with this mailer.
A Message from Bea (Manno) Scheinbaum, Roger's Mother
Roger Manno's campaign has sent out this email from his mother, Bea Scheinbaum, addressing the material on Senator Mike Lenett's nuke website.
A message from Bea (Manno) Scheinbaum, Roger's Mother
Over the last few weeks, I've followed with profound disbelief the desperate and ruthless lies and innuendos Mike Lenett has made about my son and daughter-in-law, Roger and Marjorie Manno. I can only assume this is what the Washington Post and Gazette were referring to when they both endorsed Roger over Mike Lenett and described Lenett as a divisive man who alienates and antagonizes his colleagues. In addition, yesterday former 3-term County Executive Doug Duncan endorsed Roger, calling Mike Lenett’s attacks ”attempted character assassination” and stating that “Mike Lenett's recent personal attacks on Roger Manno, his wife and family are never called for in an election.”
Mike Lenett and his campaign have designed a website and mailed campaign literature with fake newspaper articles to trick the public into believing that they had uncovered real and scandalous information about Roger. The truth is that Mike Lenett wrote these articles. The endorsements for Roger by the Washington Post and the Gazette are the real newspaper articles.
First of all, Mike Lenett falsely attacks my son and his wife for supposedly hiding their wealth, their luxury Manhattan apartment and ties to Wall Street. How absurd - none of this is true. My daughter-in-law is a bright and successful woman and shame on Mike Lenett for trying to tear her down. Neither she nor my son own or rent any such apartment, and this is a complete fabrication. Additionally, Lenett has falsely asserted that Roger is using hidden wealth to finance his State Senate campaign. I only wish they had the wealth of Mike Lenett so they could respond to these lies with the stunning force they deserve. What Lenett doesn't publicize is that he has used in excess of two hundred thousand dollars of his own personal wealth in an attempt to buy this election.
Secondly, as the woman who gave Roger his name, I need to respond to what is clearly Lenett's racism and fear mongering. Roger's birth and first six years of life in California were idyllic. I was a student and my husband a sculptor. It was the 60’s. We were poor but filled with ideals and hope. We marched and protested the war but kept our focus on building a loving and moral life. Our only concession to the 60’s was the name we chose for our son. I thought of naming him David but "Rajah" (also "king") seemed more exotic. Of course Roger would have preferred a more common name such as Eric, Sam or Jon. He grew comfortable with people calling him "Roger" and planned ultimately to change it legally. In 2002, after my brother Morty changed his name to "Joel," Roger finally made the change as well. I am disgusted that Lenett uses his birth name to play on racial fears and stereotypes.
Thirdly, I must address the ugly attempt by Lenett to misrepresent and malign Roger's education and his time spent writing poetry, music, short stories and screenplays. In childhood, Roger struggled academically because of the traumas he experienced, the death of his father when Roger was not yet seven, Roger’s own cardiac illness, my cancer, the physical and psychological abuse he suffered at the hands of a man who entered our lives when I was vulnerable and still reeling from my husband's death. Later, Roger attempted college several times unsuccessfully. Instead, he wrote about pain, about struggle… and I praised his attempts to turn his pain into something productive. In fact, Roger's art reflected that of a great many of his relatives, including my father and mother, Samuel and Etta Scheinbaum, who were both poets, and Roger's father, John Manno, who was a sculptor and played Jazz slide trombone. During this period, Roger supported his efforts bartending and waiting tables as many young artists do, always hoping to one day return to college. Finally, after some years, he reapplied to Hunter College and, contrary to his early attempts, this time he soared, graduated magna cum laude, received a White House internship, went on to graduate law school with a joint degree, and ultimately, was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.
When Lenett refers to this difficult early period in Roger’s development as some hidden detour into a scandalous and wayward life, it is an affront to every young person trying desperately to make sense of grief, disabilities and hardship. Contrary to what Lenett would like you to believe, this period, during which Roger was able to confront, resolve and move past trauma is a tribute to his character and perseverance. Roger was anything but in hiding. He was out front and center. His pain and ultimate triumph were visible for anyone to see who had the wisdom to understand what they were seeing.
Anyone who knows Roger knows that he is a relentless advocate who works 24-7 for the things in which he believes. This is particularly so for health care. He is not driven by money but by concern and empathy. Roger Manno genuinely cares about the world in which he lives and the people who inhabit it.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Bea (Manno) Scheinbaum
Kelly Takes a Risk
The conventional wisdom in round-robin races is that candidates should not go after rivals because that creates opportunities for third parties to go up the middle and win. But District 16 House candidate Ariana Kelly has rolled the dice with this bold new contrast mailer.
Kelly is now saying through the mail what she has said online twice: she believes she is better qualified to go to Annapolis than Kyle Lierman. An independent poll of which your author has become aware shows that Kelly and Lierman are virtually tied for the district’s third Delegate seat. Perhaps Kelly’s mailer is an attempt to move those numbers. But will it move them in her direction, Lierman’s direction or no direction at all? We’ll find out tomorrow night – unless this contest goes to absentees and provisionals.
Craig Rice: Royce Hanson's Getting Desperate
Council District 2 candidate Craig Rice sent out the following email about rival Royce Hanson yesterday.
Royce Hanson's getting desperate...
Dear Friends,
There are only 2 days until the primary election and one of my opponents is getting desperate. He's sent out 3 mailers trying to frame me as "mortgaging my campaign to special interests" while touting the majority of his contributions come from individuals.
The "special interests" he's referring to are groups like our hard-working firefighters and police, teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers who each have contributed to my campaign. In fact, he sought all of their endorsements and if he had been endorsed by them, they would have contributed to his campaign instead.
So is this sour grapes, or is Royce so principled that he wouldn't take money from these so-called "special interests?"
Well, in a taped interview with the League of Women Voters, that question was asked. And Royce Hanson said "I'm happy to receive contributions from anybody who wants to contribute to my campaign. I take the same position that Abraham Lincoln did. I'll walk with the devil if he's going in my direction."
See the video for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxmBXTtFmLI
Why is it ok for Royce to take money from anyone (including the devil), but not me? Sounds like old-school politics are afoot.
It appears Royce Hanson will just about say anything and mislead you to get into office. Do you want someone like Royce that will mislead you or someone like me who is endorsed by the hard-working men and women of this County, someone that will answer to YOU?
Vote Craig Rice for County Council, District 2 on Tuesday, September 14th and tell Royce Hanson he can't trick you into voting for him.
By authority: Citizens for Craig Rice, Vivian Rice, Treasurer
The Meanest MoCo Primary of All Time, Part One
Montgomery County’s political community is much more diverse than it appears to be from the outside. While nearly all political players here are Democrats, they often disagree on issues of development, budget, transportation and the appropriate pace of change. But one thing almost every one of them will say today is that this election has been the Meanest MoCo Primary of All Time.
We do not come to that conclusion lightly. MoCo has a long history of negative campaigning. The two traditional tools of political slime here have been the whisper campaign and, much less frequently, the mail.
MoCo is a large county but its local political community is relatively small – perhaps numbering only a few hundred people. That makes our jurisdiction ideally suited for whisper campaigns alleging all manner of sleaze and smut. If we believed every whisper we have heard, we would think that the state and county governments are populated exclusively by perverts, drunks, crooks, racists, floozies and (gasp!) closet Republicans. OK, maybe there is a small bit of truth in this, but we will not be naming names since some of these people are great anonymous sources. The virtue of whisper campaigns is that they do not need authority lines. But few of them break through to the mass media and most of them remain the Chardonnay gossip of insiders.
Candidates who have wanted to elevate their charges to the attention of the general public have occasionally gone into the mail. Most negative MoCo mailers are actually contrast pieces, which tout positive things about one candidate and bad things about that person’s rival. Here’s an example from 2002 in which Council Member Phil Andrews took on his challenger, Rockville City Council Member Bob Dorsey.
Most purely negative mailers in MoCo have been issue-based and not character-based. Here’s a 2002 mailer from the End Gridlock slate going after then-Council Member Blair Ewing for opposing the ICC.
The End Gridlock slate’s approach was logical. According to them, the ICC was necessary. Blair Ewing opposed it. So Ewing had to go. This says nothing about Ewing’s character, only that he was wrong on an issue.
Prior to this year, direct character attacks in MoCo campaigns have been uncommon. Two instances stand out.
1. Delegate Dana Dembrow (D-20)
Sharp-elbowed Delegate Dana Dembrow had been feuding bitterly with the rest of his delegation, Senator Ida Ruben and Delegates Sheila Hixson and Peter Franchot, for years. In 2002, Ruben and her allies tried to get him redistricted out, to no avail. But then Dembrow was charged with hitting his wife and all hell broke loose. The rest of his delegation endorsed Delegate challenger Gareth Murray and a wave of anti-Dembrow flyers discussing the domestic violence rushed through the district. Dembrow lost by 524 votes to Murray. After the election, the two PACs that funded the mailers were revealed to have received thousands of dollars from Ruben, Franchot, Hixson and Murray.
Dembrow was later hired by Governor Bob Ehrlich and fired a year later. In 2006, Ruben and Murray were defeated and Franchot was elected Comptroller, leaving Hixson as the sole survivor.
2. The County Council Can Can
In 2002, Neighbors for a Better Montgomery (Neighborspac) formed to oppose Doug Duncan’s End Gridlock County Council slate. End Gridlock swept the at-large election that year, but Neighborspac returned with guns blazing four years later. The group supplemented its traditional activity of tallying campaign finance data with this video of the End Gridlock Council Members, which it posted on its website.
Campaign contributions are always fair game for negative messaging. But this video went further with its depiction of five Council Members as marionettes dancing on a developer’s strings. (Its demented nature made it even more effective.) Two of the marionettes were defeated – one because he ran against Ike Leggett for Executive – and three survived. The video lives on in MoCo infamy.
The anti-Dembrow campaign and the Can Can stand out in county history because they were a bit unusual for their time. They would fit right in this year. 2010 has seen a large number of contested one-on-one primaries between candidates who do not like each other. It is also occurring in the context of a great number of technological platforms for delivering negative messages, like blogs, Facebook, email and attack sites, that did not exist or could not have been effective in the past. But what will truly be remembered about 2010 is the rip-roaring nastiness with which this year’s stinking mud has been sprayed. We’ll reminisce about the worst of the worst tomorrow.
Exum Hits Back at SEIU
Senator Nathaniel Exum (D-24) has released a video condemning the negative mail sent against him by SEIU. Ironically, his defender is none other than former Senator Tommie Broadwater, who was sent to prison for food stamp fraud. Un-bah-lievable.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Doug Duncan Denounces Lenett, Endorses Manno
Former County Executive Doug Duncan has intervened in the District 19 Senate race, endorsing challenger Roger Manno and blasting Senator Mike Lenett. Following is the statement from Manno's campaign.
For Immediate Release
Contact: 301-598-4063
Former County Executive Doug Duncan Denounces Lenett Attacks - Endorses Manno for State Senate
Silver Spring - This afternoon, former 3-term County Executive Doug Duncan released the following statement denouncing Mike Lenett's personal attacks, and endorsing Roger Manno for State Senate:
“In these very difficult economic times, we need leaders who will focus on the challenges ahead and put personal pettiness behind them. Roger Manno is working hard to bring District 19 together for the good of the community, while his opponent has resorted to attempted character assassination in this campaign. Mike Lenett's recent personal attacks on Roger Manno, his wife and family are never called for in an election. Today, I am asking District 19 voters to stand up and say no to this type of offensive politics and vote for Roger Manno for State Senate.”
Roger Manno commented that “I am humbled and honored to receive the endorsement of former County Executive Doug Duncan. In addition, I am touched that the community has come together in such a strong and vocal way to support our candidacy, and to condemn Mike Lenett’s mean-spirited and false attacks.”
For more information, please visit www.RogerManno.com.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
SEIU's Seventh Anti-Exum Mailer
Along with the seventh(!) neg targeting Exum is a favorable mailer supporting his challenger, Joanne Benson.
Sleepy Sossi
Red Maryland's Mark Newgent reports that Senator Nancy King's Sleepy Saqib strategy is being used in a Republican Delegate primary on the Eastern Shore. Challenger Steve Hershey included pictures of slumbering GOP Delegate Richard Sossi (R-36) in this mailer, which Newgent originally printed.
It's just not safe to sleep in public anymore!
Mike Lenett's Facts
Senator Mike Lenett's mailer, "Working Together for Real Leadership and Real Results," contains a fact page on himself and his opponent, Delegate Roger Manno. Lenett's fact recitation reads:While Mike’s opponent, Roger Manno, and those who opposed Mike’s run in 2006 are hoping to distract you from the issues and Mike’s record, here are the facts:
We reprint Lenett’s entire mailer below.
Fact #1: Mike has passed over 3 times as much legislation as his opponent, including bills to protect the environment, help seniors and individuals with disabilities, expand economic opportunity, protect working families, help families caught in foreclosures, and protect public safety.
Fact #2: Mike has been honored as state-wide Legislator of the Year by 5 organizations.
Fact #3: Whereas Mike has been elected by his colleagues into Senate Leadership and has been given a special committee chairmanship, Mike’s opponent has not achieved these positions in the House.
Now here are some facts about Roger Manno:
Fact #1: Mike’s opponent has the second lowest success rate in passing legislation of any Montgomery County legislator over the last 4 years.
Fact #2: Mike’s opponent has withdrawn more legislation in the face of opposition than any Montgomery County legislator over the last 4 years, nearly one-third of all the bills he’s introduced and more than twice the number of bills he’s passed.
Fact #3: Mike’s opponent introduced 13 bills this session, none of which were successful.
Fact #4: The “Shift Breaks” bill Mike’s opponent lists as one of his major accomplishments actually was a bill he was unable to pass for several years; finally, his Chairman took over the bill, pushed it through committee, and switched the names on the bill to allow Manno to have a bill with his name on it. http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/amds/bil_0009/hb1299_11379301.pdf
Fact #5: Although Mike’s opponent has claimed that his pension fund legislation is the “first solution to fully fund” teacher pension costs, this is not true; his proposal is over $300 million short of a solution, which is why his bill was unanimously rejected by every Democrat and Republican on two committees.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/fnotes/bil_0000/hb0010.pdf
When you know the facts, there’s no comparison.
That’s why we’re all joining Governor O’Malley in supporting Senator Mike Lenett’s strong, effective, and collaborative leadership.
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