Letters to the Editor 9-18-14

Slime attempt
Editor: Really? Does one of Deb Fudge’s recorded votes as a Windsor City Councilmember stir questions about potential conflict of interest, as the front page Aug. 31 Press Democrat article wants us to believe? Or does it stir suspicion about the source of the accusation? A vote for a project on a 5-0 council decision hardly raises questions about quid-pro-quo for only one of the council members. The unanimous aspect of the vote was cleverly hidden on an inside page. This attempt to slime one of the county’s most honest political figures is so typical of Sonoma County campaigns that it constitutes a signature or a brand. The same folks did it to Rue Furch in 2008 and knocked down Pete Foppiano in this year’s primary for 4th District Supervisor. Both of those slime campaigns were exaggerated and based on innuendo related to personal misfortune, not malfeasance.
The headlines about Fudge lack any impact because she is so clean, and her vote could not have given special advantage to the developers. But apparently she’s ahead of James Gore in polls, so anything goes. Traditionally, a whispering campaign is the next step. Watch for it. This slime won’t stick on Fudge, but the attempt makes one thing very clear. In spite of his protestations, Mr. Gore is being offered to voters by the guys who created the slime brand: the same guys who gave us Efren Carrillo.
Jane E. Nielson
Sebastopol