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It a difficult task to smear your opponent and have people want to support your smiling face. I suspect there is a reason that most people don't try to sell themselves and beat up on their opponents on the same thing.
Not only that but he has taken to using the phrase "good old boy" which seems out of place in a printed professional looking brochure. Plus, its a phrase that some of his supporters (I suspect staffers) have been using as well as its the phrase of the day over at Scott Smith Watch.
I think that this flyer is a big mistake for 3 reasons:
1. Griswold is the ultimate insider. He has been on the council for 5 years. Under his watch, things have gotten worse and he has done nothing about it. Not only that, but he has let major opportunities like MD Helicopters almost slip away. What does that say about him? Either he is truly part of the problem, or he wasn't able to assert himself in any kind of effective way. Either way, I don't think thats the kind of leadership that people who are looking for change want to see.
2. Griswold sounds desperate. He has changed his tune a couple of times now, and its hard to tell where he will be next. First, he embraced people like Walters and hoped people would like his experience, now he is saying that he is the only one with any non-insider experience? In the same breath he is talking about the right combination of experience and leadership, he is trying to put his opponent down as a developer? But what about him? What experience does owning a restaurant prepare you for making deals at Gateway airport? It sounds like he has put everything he could have learned at a restaurant to good use already - namely answering his own phone.
3. Griswold has certainly taken money from developers. So, are they bad or are they good? Doesn't it come off as hypocritical to come out against developers and the like and call them "Good Old Boys" and then still take money from them? What's more, the biggest things coming down the pipe for the economic future of Mesa are all development projects. How do you think the people from the Waveyard, Riverview, or the GM proving groups will react when they hear about this? Do you think they are going to want to work with a guy who thinks they are all so bad? Do you think any other developers are going to donate to him at this point? What would he do if they all went to him and asked for their money back?
In the end, I think that coming out tough against his opponent with something like this was a bad move. I don't really see an upside to coming out with such misguided and harsh language that is only going to alienate people and drag this last month into the mud. Griswold would have been better served to continue to send out his old feel good pieces or done more publicize his 100 day plan.
3 comments:
Look at the past five years- this guy has been flapping in the wind the whole time. The fact is, until the guy starts naming names of who makes his opponent a Good Old Boy, the assumption is he means Mormon. Not surprising though this guy is getting into the mud.
Smith released his plan which was far better than Griswold's which is why he had to go negative. He's getting whipped in every sense of the game so now he has to play dirty. Just show's you what kind of mayor he would be down there at city hall.
I'm so disappointed he has chosen to go negative and even make religion a part of this. I can see talking about someone's record or something but to go throw shots and insinuate religion as a negative, that's just going too far.
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