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EMIL
FRANZI |
What would you consider a positive campaign?October 31, 2007 |
A few years back the
magazine Campaigns and Elections carried the obit
of a southern political consultant. He had
requested the following appear on his tombstone:
“There was no issue so complex that I could not
over-simplify it.”
We will shortly enter another campaign cycle, with it’s share of candidates and ballot propositions. The warm-up is going on next door in the City of Tucson. Media overflow (pun noted) on Proposition 200, the one major ballot proposition, has washed up way beyond the Tucson city limits for those with a radio, television, Internet connection or Tucson newspaper. Opponents are doing the opposite of over-simplification. They’re over-obfuscating. Proposition 200 revolves around the City of Tucson attaching the new $14 residential garbage fee onto water bills of city users and prohibits it by amending the city charter. It goes beyond that by restricting new water hook-ups when the water supply is diminished and further prohibits using treated sewerage for drinking water. Opponents have raised more than $700,000 so far, mainly from development and real estate interests. We sponsored a radio debate between Prop. 200’s initiator, former state Rep. John Kromko, and current state Rep. Jonathan Paton. The only thing we all agreed on was that it appears there are two separate Prop. 200s — Kromko’s and what his opponents decided it could mean if a room full of lawyers were able to imagine all the possible interpretations that could be made by the most creative judges. Your dog might lose his hair, and your mother could become a bag lady. Several things make this battle of interest to those not living in Tucson. The borders of Tucson’s water empire run way beyond town, leaving many served by Tucson Water no voice in this or other actions. An example: In Tortolita, water suppliers range from Metro Water, Oro Valley, Tucson and private wells. Short of annexation by dissolving Marana and Oro Valley, this will continue. The only change proposed is some form of unelected regional water authority completely eliminating pesky choices by voters all together. Many outside Tucson have paid for their own garbage collection for years and wonder why this has to be a government function in the first place. That Tucson for years used the dual carrots of “free garbage” and “fire protection” as enticements for annexation had some bearing. Finally, the NO on 200 campaign is, by definition, a classic example of a “negative campaign.” One can always judge the level of sophistication in a candidate or political organization when you hear whining about “going negative.” The primary motivation for this is not the goody-two-shoes moral superiority often expressed, but fear of losing the moral crutch that leaves for future reference. “I could have won, but I was above being nasty.” Ballot propositions inherently make the “anti-negative” argument ludicrous. Those on both sides not only point out the fallacies of their opposition’s proposal or position, but often include attacks on their specific opponents. The NO on 200 folks call the proponents closet no-growthers with a hidden agenda. Proponents point to the big money support of special interests. That’s called a “negative campaign.” Trying to purge similar arguments from campaigns involving candidates is equally ludicrous. A political campaign at any level has four parts: let ’em know you’re running; give ’em a reason to vote for you; give them a reason to vote against your opponent; identify your voter and get them to the polls. Those basics have been present since before there was a republic. Guys like Patrick Henry and Sam Adams knew them well. You may recall they ran a helluva negative campaign against a guy named George III. $700,000 should be more than enough to purchase public opinion in an election in which well under 100,000 people will vote. If not, those in charge of that campaign should join several former mayors of Oro Valley living out of state under assumed names.
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BUT WATCH WHAT YOU SAY! |
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