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WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2000
Our View
A bad start
Pre-emptive strikes on opponents will
only serve to alienate voters
By taking off on the results of some very preliminary
pre-election reporting, Rappahannock's
own Walter Longyear — who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 31st District seat being vacated by Jay Katzen — has cast down a gauntlet that he should have held on to. We wonder why.
The deadline for filing the report with the Virginia Board of Elections enumeration contributions and expenses of those planning to run in the November, 2001 election was July 17.
Within a few hours after the documents were made public, Longyear sent out a press release claiming that he had "recruited twice as many donors as (Dell) Ennis," the only other candidate that had significant activity to report.
No matter that the numbers at this time are so small — 168 contributors for Longyear, most of which came as a result of direct mail solicitation — versus Ennis' 80.
No matter that having raised nearly $28,000, Ennis has collected more than twice as much money as Longyear.
No matter that the Republican Primary is nearly a year away, and the general election 15 months down the road.
If this is the beginning of a long, ugly campaign, voters are going to be turned off. And in the case of Walter Longyear, we have been shown that he has no problem making the means justify the end.
Remember the last Rappahannock School Board election? Incumbent Ron Makela, whom Longyear strongly opposed, was unfairly savaged during the last week in a letter supposedly authorized by Rappahannock County Republican Committee, which Longyear chairs.
Accurately targeted, the letter changed enough votes in Jackson District to get neophyte Rebecca Cordani elected.
The political strategy worked. Too bad we can't say the same for the ultimate outcome.
It was said long ago that if you tell the American people the truth, they will make the right decision every time. Why isn't that good enough now?
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