Last week I wrote—at boring length—about my decision to run a very local race for a township trustee position in Illinois. To say that you were uninterested is an understatement. I elicited exactly 0 comments. So it is with some trepidation that I plow some of the same ground today.
I want to share with you the very local politics of the political smear.
More below the fold.
Today McHenry County's daily newspaper the Northwest Herald ran an attack letter by one Brent Smith on me, a Democratic candidate for Nunda Township Trustee. Read the letter here. Smith’s attack was not unexpected. He lurked around the January Nunda Township Democratic Party Caucus at which I asked the voters to consider my past as a Vietnam draft resistor before they voted to slate me. The same past which I frankly revealed in my candidate profile our campaign blog.
By the way, it should be noted that when an anonymous person tried to peddle a questionable personal attack on one of the four Republicans in the Trustee race last week, I not only refused to use the material, but personally contacted the other candidate to assure him that we would not use it under any circumstances.
Anyway, below are the responces that I made to the letter in the generally snarky comments on the Northwest Herald web page:
In 26 years residency in Nunda Township, I have never tried to hide my past. During the agonies of the Vietnam War I was faced with a personal moral choice, which I made at a personal sacrifice. Others made other decisions. I respect them for it. I some folks will never be able to support me because of that. I understand. Others will look at a lifetime of community service and involvement and judge that. My many veteran friends may even remember when I advocated for decent medical care for vets while a Republican administration sought to short change them.
Mr. Smith is lying when he claims that his letter "is not about political partisanship." His wife is one of my opponents for Nunda Township Trustee. He has been using his leadership in clout heavy Local Union 150 to build a political empire within the Republican Party. Insiders may recall how he arranged for Local 150 operatives to get appointed as Republican precinct committeemen even though some of them did not even live in the county. Allied with Nunda Road Commissioner Don Kopsell’s mini patronage army, he hopes to be calling the shots in the county GOP soon.
By the way, ask honest union leaders what they think of Mr. Smith’s cozy relationship with the Republican Party.