Have you ever seen an election in Dallas covered by Belo like our current
mayoral race? It does have a smell similar to when Ron
Kirk defeated Darrell Jordan and Domingo Garcia. In that race, Belo ran a
huge picture of Kirk, pretty much ignored Jordan and blasted Garcia.
What's happening in the current race makes Belo's coverage in that race and
the arena race and the Trinity Bond-doogle look downright balanced -- but they
were not.
Before we get into the bogus poll numbers, let's look at what Tom Dunning's
campaign has done.
1. First TV Ad -- contained stolen footage from Allyn & Co's firm,
from DART, from a local television station. Bad press. The ad had to
be pulled. Tom Dunning claimed to know nothing about the
"mistake" and refused to condemn his campaign manager for it.
Ron Kirk's Large White Shadow (Carol Reed) said it was an honest mistake, like
she would have a clue what "honest" means in the real world.
BACKFIRE!
2. Attack TV Ad -- Dunning calls this a comparison piece, where it has
videos of Miller but some other woman reads script quoting Miller as saying Ron
Kirk is "petty and mean spirited". To which, everyone says
"RIGHT ON". Then the woman quotes Laura as saying "I don't
want any more parties". Isn't that just awful of Miller? Then
the woman reads a quote from DMN claiming Laura made some veterans' mothers cry
in the audience. We all know how much stock you can put in DMN
editorial. Dunning has been attacking Laura before we even know who he
is. His campaign indicates the mean spirited person in this race is Tom
Dunning. BACKFIRE!
3. Red Mailer -- This piece has distorted pictures of Miller, and it is
the worst piece of political mail I have ever seen in Dallas politics. It
is hard to read, it is unattractive, it is nasty, and it made people really
angry. Not only that, but most people agree with her quotes in it.
Dunning calls it a comparison piece. BACKFIRE!
4. Kathy Nealey -- Notorious Vote Broker. She has been paid $200,000
by Dunning campaign with last financial report. For what? Well, to
BUY ENDORSEMENTS and pay "walking around money" to her lieutenants in
the field who go after Senior voters in the minority community.
5. Attack TV Ad -- Tape where Laura Miller and Ron Kirk get in an argument
over her right to speak on issue, and Miller and Mayor PreTend Poss get in an
argument over the same thing. Not one Miller supporter or undecided voter
who hears that tape or sees the video has any reason to go against her.
Kirk's Large White Shadow and do not understand how unpopular he is and the city
council in general. On top of the backlash to the content, Dunning gets
cornered after a debate by Fox4 because he used some of their footage in this
2nd attack adv. Reed says it's in the hands of their lawyers, but she's
not pulling the ad. Well, she did take out the footage that Fox4 said was
their material. Still she claims it's footage from cable access TV.
Aren't they a non-profit? BACK FIRE!
6. Non-Profits -- A mailer went out on Dunning stationery to
"community leaders" inviting them to Preservation Dallas to come meet
Tom Dunning. No such invitation was made to Miller or Garcia. When I
called, their president told me they had mentioned it to one of their board
members who is supporting Miller. I asked why they didn't call her
treasurer, who is on file with the city. This is a 501(c)3 engaging in
political activity. After the election, I'm contacting the IRS.
7. Dallas Can! -- A mailer went out inviting people to an event sponsored
by Tom Dunning and his wife. Its director is a big smoozer. You
hardly ever attend a "civic group" meeting where he is not there
working the crowd. Dallas Can! is a 501(c)3 engaging in political
activity. After the election, I'm contacting the IRS.
8. Councilman Beat that Indictment James Fantroy sends out a letter on his
City Council stationery endorsing Dunning, using his title. Both
illegal. He claims he used a "photocopy" of his
stationery. The bird brain claims he did not understand it's the logo and
his title he is not allowed to use in political endorsements, not just the the
paper. This is a former Plan Commissioner who has been around City Hall
and courtrooms a long time. He knows the rules. Park Board member,
Carol Brandon claims she helped with the letter and it complies with city
policy, like she's a lawyer. Well, she's wrong and that kind of advice
indicates she is qualified to be a lawyer under City Attorney Madeleine
Johnson. BACK FIRE!
Even Belo could not ignore Fantroy's wrongdoing:
| Propriety
of letter disputed, Dunning
endorsement didn't use city supplies, council's Fantroy says (01/17/2002
by COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON /DMN)
A letter from City
Council member James Fantroy has raised questions about whether he
violated city code when he endorsed mayoral candidate Tom Dunning on
copies of his official letterhead. . . . The Dallas city code prohibits
most uses of the city's insignia "to signify sponsorship or
approval by an agency or department of the city." . . .
Dallas' code of ethics precludes officials
from using city supplies for political purposes. The ethics code also
specifies that officials . . . . cannot mention their elected office in
connection with an endorsement. . . .
Mr. Fantroy said he was unaware of the restrictions on the use of his
letterhead. The letter was crafted while he was in the hospital, and he
approved it without seeing the final draft, Mr. Fantroy said. . .
.
Rob Allyn, Ms. Miller's campaign consultant, said: "Clearly this
has happened again and again and again. It's just so typical of the
status quo mentality at City Hall: 'We can do whatever we want, and
nobody's going to call us on it.' " . . . .
Violating the city's prohibition on using the city's insignia is a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, he said. . .
. If a complaint is filed with the city, the issue
ultimately could be decided in municipal court.
. . . the required disclaimer specifying who paid for the mailing is not
included.
County Commissioner John Wiley Price, a supporter of Mr. Dunning, said
he paid for postage for the letter. The omission of the disclaimer was a
simple mistake, he said. . . .
Several times during the campaign, the Dunning camp has faced questions
about the use of unauthorized video footage in his TV commercials.
Officials at KDFW-TV (Channel 4) contend the first shot in the most
recent ad, which shows Ms. Miller yelling at former Mayor Ron Kirk
during a council meeting, is footage shot by the station.
The revamped ad uses another video clip from the same August council
meeting, Dunning officials said. |
Here's the real issue. Experienced
political operatives like Fantroy, Bradon, Commissioner Price, Carol Reed and
Tom Dunning all claiming to be naive about election laws, local and state.
That is just not believable.
It's that old
rule, do what you want to do, apologize later.
Well, that's not going to work this time. If you want to be part of a
class action lawsuit against the ODB operatives, get in touch with me after the
campaign. It's time to go after these crooks and liars.
Speaking of liars, let's now look at that Belo poll.
Miller
leads, but runoff possible, Edge
over Dunning 'not insurmountable,' pollster says (01/17/20
by VICTORIA LOE HICKS
and DAVE MICHAELS / DMN)
Both
Tom Dunning and Laura Miller are within striking distance of their
goals, according to a poll conducted for The Dallas Morning News and
WFAA-TV (Channel 8).
His goal is to force her into a runoff in the mayor's race. Her goal is
to win outright Saturday.
. . . Among
601 likely voters interviewed Sunday through Tuesday, 37 percent said
they support Ms. Miller and 29 percent said they favor Mr. Dunning.
Domingo Garcia was the choice of 14 percent, and 18 percent were
undecided. |
There is no way Garcia breaks 10%
to start with, and Dunning will not get 35%. The only number that jives
with any polls Miller's campaign has been taking is the 18% undecided and that's
only if you call "all" voters, not those most likely to vote.
The pollster claims she called "likely voters".
With Rob Allyn trying to determine her worst case scenario, Miller wins outright
(well over 50%) among hard core voters. You cannot include the 18%
undecided in either poll because they are not likely to vote if they haven't
made up their mind at this point, with all the TV, radio debates, news reports,
mailers. Among all registered voters, even those who usually skip
elections, Miller is still well over 50%. Dunning's numbers stay the same
in that group and Garcia gains a point or two, neither has enough to force her
into a runoff.
As much as I hate that word RUNOFF, we are ready to rumble, Belo. They can
raise more money, and so can Miller, but we only have to go right back to our
phoning and contacts. Miller's yard signs are everywhere -- in legal
locations, and more importantly in people's yards.
Dallas voters are not going to allow Belo, Ron Kirk's Large White Shadow (Carol
Reed), the ODB or any robber barons to steal another election from us.
Here's something Carol Reed just might want to think about. If we are in a
runoff in February and Ron Kirk is in a primary in March, it is going to fresh
on people's mind what the dirty tricks his campaign manager played on Dallas
voters just a few weeks earlier. Although Miller has a lot of support
among Republicans, she and Dunning and Garcia are all Democrats. At least
half of her supporters are hard voting Democrats. It's going to be very
embarrassing for old Con Jerk if he barely pulls Dallas, if he does.
There's no way he will win Dallas County in the primary.
It's up to you to make sure that everyone you know gets to the polls and VOTES
FOR LAURA MILLER.
|
Heather
Uhlemann;
This is my first email to you, but I've been reading your site for years
now. Thanks for your witty and honest commentary.
I live in the suburbs, so I can't vote in the upcoming election.
I've done my best to persuade my family members in Dallas to vote for
Laura.
My husband knows I like Laura, but he hasn't been paying too much
attention to the election.
Last night, when the Dunning ad with Laura standing up to Kirk at City
Hall came on, my husband looked at me and asked "is that supposed
to convince people not to vote for her?"
That was also my
reaction when I first saw the spot. I guess Dunning has forgotten how
popular the tough-talking Ann Richards was. Laura ought to thank him for
making such an effective campaign ad for her.
As for Belo's support of Dunning and their dubious poll, weren't these
the same guys who thought those little :CueCats were going to change the
world and make them billions of dollars in the process?
They gambled a lot of money on what turned out to be one of the biggest
dotcom bombs around.
Just about anyone could have told them it was a bad idea.
Clearly, they are as out of touch as ever.
I'll be out of town on election night, but I'm looking forward to
checking in to your web site and others to see just how bad Laura beats
them!
__________
Dave
Thompson:
The large early voting turnout is interesting; especially, since
it already exceeds the total vote in the last election for mayor.
I am beginning to wonder if the negative ads by Dunning, now Garcia,
aren't actually helping Miller.
Maybe folks really are tired of being told that "the establishment
knows best".
When they see the ads of Laura standing up (even if sitting down) to
Kirk and his crowd, maybe the voters are thinking,
"Way to go!"
____________
Gordon James:
Dear Mr. Dunning,
I noticed on your website that the words experience, leadership, and
integrity fade in and out on your picture.
Considering the way you lied to Ms. Miller and the voters of Dallas
about refraining from negative campaigning, I suggest you scratch out
the word "integrity" and put in the
word "unethical".
_____________
Joe Smith:
You guys have opened up the eyes of a lot of people, myself included.
We have learned to read "between the lines" of what the
managed news and ODB have told us.
It's clear that the "fat lady" started singing shortly
after the nine o'clock news on Channel 4 Tuesday night. Dunning
wrote his own political obituary last night, standing there and lying
through his teeth about using Channel 4's video in his commercial.
And the sheer arrogance that his campaign staff has, who apparently feel
it's okay to break the law.
_________________
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