Tuesday is election day and the campaigns that are garnering the most interest locally are the Fresno mayor's race and the District 5 Board of Supervisors race. Not surprisingly, most of the money in this election is being spent in those two contests -- a million dollars in each one.
Funny how petty you can get when you have that much money to spend.
The race to succeed Supervisor Bob Waterston in District 5 is an example of the worst kind of campaign tactics. Competitors Nathan Magsig and Debbie Poochigian have been wallowing in the gutter in recent weeks and that has trumped what was once an issues-oriented campaign.
Now these two "conservative Republicans" are sending mailers to Democratic households suggesting they have a bunch of Democratic pals. Magsig even says Poochigian is too conservative to represent residents of the Board of Supervisors. Fine, but he also should be sending that mailer to Republican households if he really believes it.
Do candidates these days stand for anything? Are they conservative or liberal? If they are moderates, say that, but don't tell Republicans how conservative you are and Democrats how liberal you are. Being a chameleon catches up with you very quickly in politics.
I caught a bit of the Magsig/Poochigian debate on KMG, it was nasty, but most remarkable, was Ray Appleton coming to Magsig's rescue, over and over...rethink your endorsement here.
In earlier posts, you pointed out that Nathan Magsig began the vicious assult on Debbie Poochigian, and that she finally responded. Now, you fail to mention that point while criticizing the candidates for "sending mailers to Democratic households suggesting the other is way too conservative to be elected to the Board of Supervisors." I am well aware of the Magsig smear on Poochigian and her family addressed to Democratic households. To my knowledge, there has been no such attack mail against Magsig from the Poochigian campaign saying that he's "too conservative" or anything like that. In fact, I doubt that there has been a Poochigian mailer that evens mentions that Magsig has been a Republican. You may stretch to try to make your point--but it would be just that, a whopping stretch.
We've received both types of mailers at our home - the ones where each candidate is telling us he/she is more conservative than the other, and the ones that say that either Magsig or Poochigian is too conservative to represent us! If there was a third name on the ballot, that person would have got my vote.
I am just sick to death of all the campaigning more because I am not in the area so none of them are on my ballot. I am in Fresno County. All I have on my ballot is prop 98 and 99, a judge and I think 1 Assembly person. Hardly worth the stamp. Nothing that couldn't have waited until November.
Waterston. Magsig. Poochigian. Can't we do better than this?