NEWS

Campaign losing formerly civil tone One wonders what prompts some of the stupid things some candidates say October 14, 2004 Until the past week or so, the Monroe County races for elective office had been almost devoid of the meanness that has marked the Bush-Kerry campaign and, recently, the gubernatorial campaign between Joe Kernan and Mitch Daniels. The closest thing to incivility had been the efforts by Democratic commissioner candidate Michael Englert to use a broad brush to tar Republicans on the county plan commission as enemies of Lake Monroe and county water quality. An example of overkill are these two excerpts from his Monday campaign release: "It is vitally important that the reactionary Republicans on the (Monroe County Plan) Commission be replaced if we are to preserve the character of our community … Englert believes the Republicans who sit on the plan commission have always opposed our planning document (the county's 1995 Comprehensive Land Use Plan), so they have subverted it at every opportunity." That flame-throwing may play well with Englert's core constituency, Greens and green Democrats who increasingly see almost every new development as a dire threat to the county. But it's not going to win him any votes from moderate Democrats or swing voters who tend to judge development case by case in terms of its positives and negatives. Even so, keep poking a bear with a sharp stick and sooner or later you'll get it mad. Englert's election opponent, GOP commissioner Joyce Poling, normally a gentle soul, responded by alluding to Englert's one-time tree-sitting protest over the Canterbury Apartments project and his adoption of the nickname "Moss" for that exercise. It may be that her best response would be a Reaganesque, "There you go again!" But the real sign the gloves are coming off was during a Farm Bureau candidate event Monday when Republican candidates for Monroe County Council took the offensive with their Democratic rivals. At the point was Andy Dodds, the long-time businessman who recently had been one of just two Republicans (Poling being the other) to be endorsed by the White River Labor Council. He went after Democratic candidate Warren Henegar for his publicly stated willingness to raise the county income tax, a fully legitimate issue to raise. But then Dodds went over the top — or more accurately, over the edge — by denigrating Democrat Sophia Travis' credentials for office. "She plays the accordion. That says enough," he said. What did that mean? Was he hanging a "Professional musicians need not apply" sign on the door to the council chamber? Or would a violinist, cellist or pianist be sufficiently sophisticated to pass muster? If council president Sue West, an accounting and budgeting wizard, played the accordion, would that disqualify her? In short, it was as dumb and self-defeating a remark as one we noted last week, when District 40 state Senate candidate Dale Cassiday took a shot at State Sen. Vi Simpson by saying he was used to dealing with "long-winded women." Both remarks are likely to come back to haunt them, and both handed their opponent a sympathy vote they could ill afford. We're in the stage of the campaign when candidates who think they're moving in for the kill sometimes end up tripping on their own tongues and shooting themselves in the foot instead. It's ironic. The race we thought might be the most nasty — incumbent Democratic commissioner Iris Kiesling vs. Republican challenger Jeff Ellington — to date has been the politest and most cleanly waged. Let's hope they continue to be examples of proper campaign decorum.