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And the worm turns…..
It was just four or five days ago when my opponent was lamenting negative campaigning. I responded that one person’s negativity is another person’s truthfulness. I then tried to point out the truth of the arguments I was making.
My opponent did not refute a single point I made. She only was upset that I raised the points in the first place. Well, now my opponent has gone “negative” on me. I won’t cry foul. After all, campaigns are about drawing comparisons between candidates. I will point out that while my so-called negativity dealt primarily with our respective stands on issues, my opponent’s negativity did not mention a single issue. Instead, she essentially talked about my life experience, which, ironically, I believe is one of my strongest points. Let’s take a look at what she said.
She said I “had a dismal employment record” and had “minimal work real work experience”, and that I held a “series of political jobs.”
Well, let’s see, in my 35-year career, I have worked 20 years in the private sector and 15 years in government. In government, I worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations at the state (Florida), county (Chester and Montgomery Counties) and federal (six years as press secretary and senior advisor to Congressman Joe Hoeffel) levels. Except for the time I worked for Congressman Hoeffel, who is a Democrat, I had no involvement in partisan politics because I believed that anyone serving the general public and not in a strictly political job should be above politics and should serve all the people.
During those 35 years, I thought I was getting “real work” experience. What could my opponent be referencing? Would it be the five years I spent as a reporter and editor for a daily newspaper? I think that is real work. Would it be the two years I spent as public information director for Chester County under a Republican administration? That seems real, also.
Or, could she be referring to the five years I spent running the day to day operations of the largest tourism publicity office in the world in Florida? Being responsible for promoting the largest industry in the state of Florida certainly seems like real work.
Could it be the 13 years I spent as an account executive and ultimately a vice president of an advertising and public relations agency in suburban Philadelphia? I doubt that would be it, do you?
Next, the Republican chairman of the Montgomery County Commissioners approached me and asked me to consider being the county’s public information director. I hesitated, but ultimately I took the job, and served in that position for two years. I certainly think that would qualify as “real work experience.”
When Joe Hoeffel was elected to Congress in 1998, he asked me to be his press secretary and senior advisor, and for the next six years I built an excellent relationship with the media, the public and served as one of Congressman Hoeffel’s chief advisors, even arguing against voting to give the President the authorization to go to war in Iraq. During that time I commuted almost daily between Montgomery County and the nation’s capital, because I was a single parent (my wife had passed away a few years before) and wanted to be home every night with my son, who was in high school. Could she be talking about that being minimal work experience?
Finally, after Hoeffel left Congress, I started my own public relations and government affairs consulting firm with a partner, and we have been running this small business for the past four years. We are entrepreneurs running a small business, and our clients provide social services to those in need, environmental services and rebuild distressed properties. Certainly that is real work.
Does all that seem like “minimal real work experience”? I did have other jobs. Three times in my life, I have worked multiple jobs. Of course, there was college when I worked two jobs and went to Temple University fulltime. Years later when my wife was battling cancer and medical bills piled up, I took a second job to pay the bills. A few years later, after my wife died, and my children were in college or about to go, I worked a second job to make ends meet. Do I lose points for working harder?
Wait! Wait! Possibly, she is talking about the four years I spent serving my country in the U.S. Navy. No, I doubt that is it, because earlier this year when she held an event to honor, among others, Vietnam era vets, I was one of the ones to whom she gave a certificate and medal. So, I don’t think those years lost any importance in the ensuing months, do you?
Frankly, I think my opponent and I should match work experience, and see whose is “minimal.”
My opponent also says I ran a “losing campaign” for county commissioner in 2003, and only decided to run after I failed to get a “political appointment.” Okay, let’s get the facts straight. First of all, when I ran I was employed as Congressman Hoeffel’s press secretary and senior advisor, so I did not run because I needed a job. Secondly, I made sure I was in compliance with the Hatch Act that controls political activity of federal employees. Third, since I was sensitive to the fact that I might lose some work time to the campaign, I asked for a reduction in pay until the campaign was over. I wonder if my opponent’s Republican colleague, who is an assistant district attorney, is still taking full pay from the DA’s office as he campaigns for the legislature.
Yes, I did lose the election. Someone always does. However, my running mate and I received the highest vote total of any Democratic candidates in history up to that time. I think it is worth pointing out that my opponent ran for county commissioner in 2007, but never had a chance to be accepted or rejected by the voters, because she was unceremoniously rejected by her own party when they nominated two other candidates.
Finally, my opponent criticizes me because my consulting firm represents a developer, and she says that means I am “not concerned about our region.”
Au contraire, mon opponent! The developer in question specializes in redeveloping distressed properties in older communities, instead of chewing up open space. The project in question promises to be the biggest redevelopment project in Norristown in decades and will create hundreds of new, permanent jobs. My opponent’s two Republican House colleagues who represent Norristown are two of the project’s biggest supporters, and the last time I looked, Norristown was in our region, and our county seat.
A review:
Minimal work experience? That doesn’t seem to be the case.
Lost a previous election because I was rejected by voters? I was honored to put myself before the voters, and lost graciously. At least my party gave me the chance to run.
More interested in helping a developer than my region? Actually, helping the developer is helping the region.
Truth 1, Negativity 0.
My opponent did not refute a single point I made. She only was upset that I raised the points in the first place. Well, now my opponent has gone “negative” on me. I won’t cry foul. After all, campaigns are about drawing comparisons between candidates. I will point out that while my so-called negativity dealt primarily with our respective stands on issues, my opponent’s negativity did not mention a single issue. Instead, she essentially talked about my life experience, which, ironically, I believe is one of my strongest points. Let’s take a look at what she said.
She said I “had a dismal employment record” and had “minimal work real work experience”, and that I held a “series of political jobs.”
Well, let’s see, in my 35-year career, I have worked 20 years in the private sector and 15 years in government. In government, I worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations at the state (Florida), county (Chester and Montgomery Counties) and federal (six years as press secretary and senior advisor to Congressman Joe Hoeffel) levels. Except for the time I worked for Congressman Hoeffel, who is a Democrat, I had no involvement in partisan politics because I believed that anyone serving the general public and not in a strictly political job should be above politics and should serve all the people.
During those 35 years, I thought I was getting “real work” experience. What could my opponent be referencing? Would it be the five years I spent as a reporter and editor for a daily newspaper? I think that is real work. Would it be the two years I spent as public information director for Chester County under a Republican administration? That seems real, also.
Or, could she be referring to the five years I spent running the day to day operations of the largest tourism publicity office in the world in Florida? Being responsible for promoting the largest industry in the state of Florida certainly seems like real work.
Could it be the 13 years I spent as an account executive and ultimately a vice president of an advertising and public relations agency in suburban Philadelphia? I doubt that would be it, do you?
Next, the Republican chairman of the Montgomery County Commissioners approached me and asked me to consider being the county’s public information director. I hesitated, but ultimately I took the job, and served in that position for two years. I certainly think that would qualify as “real work experience.”
When Joe Hoeffel was elected to Congress in 1998, he asked me to be his press secretary and senior advisor, and for the next six years I built an excellent relationship with the media, the public and served as one of Congressman Hoeffel’s chief advisors, even arguing against voting to give the President the authorization to go to war in Iraq. During that time I commuted almost daily between Montgomery County and the nation’s capital, because I was a single parent (my wife had passed away a few years before) and wanted to be home every night with my son, who was in high school. Could she be talking about that being minimal work experience?
Finally, after Hoeffel left Congress, I started my own public relations and government affairs consulting firm with a partner, and we have been running this small business for the past four years. We are entrepreneurs running a small business, and our clients provide social services to those in need, environmental services and rebuild distressed properties. Certainly that is real work.
Does all that seem like “minimal real work experience”? I did have other jobs. Three times in my life, I have worked multiple jobs. Of course, there was college when I worked two jobs and went to Temple University fulltime. Years later when my wife was battling cancer and medical bills piled up, I took a second job to pay the bills. A few years later, after my wife died, and my children were in college or about to go, I worked a second job to make ends meet. Do I lose points for working harder?
Wait! Wait! Possibly, she is talking about the four years I spent serving my country in the U.S. Navy. No, I doubt that is it, because earlier this year when she held an event to honor, among others, Vietnam era vets, I was one of the ones to whom she gave a certificate and medal. So, I don’t think those years lost any importance in the ensuing months, do you?
Frankly, I think my opponent and I should match work experience, and see whose is “minimal.”
My opponent also says I ran a “losing campaign” for county commissioner in 2003, and only decided to run after I failed to get a “political appointment.” Okay, let’s get the facts straight. First of all, when I ran I was employed as Congressman Hoeffel’s press secretary and senior advisor, so I did not run because I needed a job. Secondly, I made sure I was in compliance with the Hatch Act that controls political activity of federal employees. Third, since I was sensitive to the fact that I might lose some work time to the campaign, I asked for a reduction in pay until the campaign was over. I wonder if my opponent’s Republican colleague, who is an assistant district attorney, is still taking full pay from the DA’s office as he campaigns for the legislature.
Yes, I did lose the election. Someone always does. However, my running mate and I received the highest vote total of any Democratic candidates in history up to that time. I think it is worth pointing out that my opponent ran for county commissioner in 2007, but never had a chance to be accepted or rejected by the voters, because she was unceremoniously rejected by her own party when they nominated two other candidates.
Finally, my opponent criticizes me because my consulting firm represents a developer, and she says that means I am “not concerned about our region.”
Au contraire, mon opponent! The developer in question specializes in redeveloping distressed properties in older communities, instead of chewing up open space. The project in question promises to be the biggest redevelopment project in Norristown in decades and will create hundreds of new, permanent jobs. My opponent’s two Republican House colleagues who represent Norristown are two of the project’s biggest supporters, and the last time I looked, Norristown was in our region, and our county seat.
A review:
Minimal work experience? That doesn’t seem to be the case.
Lost a previous election because I was rejected by voters? I was honored to put myself before the voters, and lost graciously. At least my party gave me the chance to run.
More interested in helping a developer than my region? Actually, helping the developer is helping the region.
Truth 1, Negativity 0.
posted by Frank Custer at
10:59 PM
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