By Stephen Gale, Chair, Sonoma County Democratic Party

May 3, 2010

This election year is turning nasty. But they always do.

In partisan races, one expects to hear the Republican front-runner for Governor referred to by Democratic Party Leadership as "An empty suit," even if the empty suit is named Meg Whitman. Unfortunately, this year the derogatory innuendo, half-truths, lies and damn lies told in negative campaign advertising is spilling over into both local non-partisan political races and the Democratic Primary races.

In the 2nd District Senatorial race, a candidate started this year's round of mud slinging with an 8-page press release targeting Noreen Evans, the presumptive front-runner and endorsed candidate of the CDP. In the 7th Assembly district, presumptive front-runner and endorsed candidate of the CDP, Michael Allen, has been similarly targeted by the former campaign manager of one of his two opponents, who left that candidate’s staff before starting a negative campaign that extends to the halls of the State Legislature. Recent Press Democrat articles cite more "softball" mud-slinging in the 4th Supervisorial District race, and it's likely there may be a little mud thrown in the 2nd Supervisorial District race before June 8th arrives.

In some races, there are certainly going to be Independent Expenditure committees that will slam one or more of our endorsed candidates and perhaps others who did not receive the local party endorsement. Although the names attached to an IE are often difficult to find, some prominent Democrats -- names you would certainly recognize -- will be contributing to IE's as large-dollar donors or be personally active in their operations.

In the race for the 3rd Judicial Seat, endorsed candidate Jamie Thistlethwaite has been attacked for errors made by the local party and false statements made by some Central Committee and/or Club Members to the local press, in one case with the person quoted in the Press Democrat taking the cowardly approach of remaining anonymous.

As the Chair of the local party, I made the decision not to respond vigorously to the initial attack against Ms. Thistlethwaite. However, during the League of Women Voters debate on Monday evening (at approximately 45 minutes elapsed time), her opponent chose to continue his smear campaign by making a false statement that also impugns the integrity of the local party's endorsement process, and on that point, I cannot remain silent.

The candidate not endorsed stated, "her campaign chair sat on and participated in discussions" that resulted in the recommendation to the Central Committee to endorse Jamie Thistlethwaite. It appears, from a close review of the video on the Press Democrat site, that he claims the party allowed a “campaign chair” to sit on an interview committee and that was the clear impression left with every member of the Central Committee who was present at the Glaser Center Monday night.

In fact, Patrick Band (Ms. Thistlethwaite's so-called “campaign chair”) notified both the Chair of the Candidate Search and Development Committee and the Chair of the Central Committee of his selection immediately following being hired by the campaign. He was not a member of the interview committee; he did not participate in discussions and did not vote during the endorsement vote at any time during the endorsement process. On the night the Central Committee endorsed Ms. Thistlethwaite, Mr. Band was not even in the room when the discussion took place.

It is unfortunate that Ms. Thistlethwaite's opponent, who was present for both his interview and the public discussion prior to the endorsement vote, did not rely on his first-hand knowledge of events. Rather, he chose to quote an inaccurate statement made to the Press Democrat by a known campaign supporter as proof for a blatantly false claim during the League's debate.

The open letter that follows is being sent as part of this newsletter so that there is no misunderstanding on the part of our local party supporters. Since Ms. Thistlethwaite's opponent and his campaign manager are both on this distribution list, they are also receiving this open letter at the same time it is provided to you.

Supporting Jamie Thistlethwaite – Now More Than Ever

Dear Sonoma County Democrats,

Ever play the party game where someone says something and it is repeated around the room from one person to another? The end statement is never the same as the phrase being quoted. The Sonoma County Democratic Party has not responded to the “he said she said” political hit-piece version of this parlor game that Civil Attorney Chris Mazzia continues to drag around the county like a dead horse.

Yet at Monday night’s debate, he asserted an easily verified fact that cannot go unchallenged. Mr. Mazzia escalated his negative campaign by stating that his opponent’s “campaign chair” was present and participated in the candidate interviews held by the local Democratic Party. He cited as authority for this outrageous claim, a statement to the Press Democrat by one of two interview committee members who voted to support Mazzia when the interview committee made its recommendation to endorse Thistlethwaite.

The claim cannot go unchallenged for two reasons. As noted by the PD staff writer who covered the initial story and in the official party records, the entire interview committee for the 3rd Judicial Seat consisted of women, and the “campaign chair” for Jamie Thistlethwaite is a man. This is a distinction that most people would expect a judicial candidate to be able to make. Secondly, Mr. Mazzia was presumably present and conscious during his interview.

If Mr. Mazzia was referring, instead, to the actual Central Committee deliberations, similar observations make us question the veracity of his rhetoric during the League of Women Voter's debate. Mr. Mazzia and his campaign manager were both present when the discussion took place and both were able to see that Mr. Band was not in the room during the discussion. When the endorsement vote was taken, Mr. Band was listed as "not voting" because he had recused himself.

The Sonoma County Democratic Party reaffirms its strong endorsement of Criminal Attorney Jamie Thistlethwaite for Superior Court Judge, Seat # 3. She is a person with high moral standards, she is honest and she is the only person running in this race who has the Criminal Court experience so needed at this time. Please make sure you vote all the way down the ballot and vote for Jamie Thistlthwaite for Superior Court Judge.

Stephen Gale, Chair, Sonoma County Democratic Party 

I take no pleasure in having to make this public statement on behalf of the local party.

In private discussions, as the Chair of the local party, I have urged various Democratic candidates to run fair and positive campaigns that focus on the real issues we face.  However, it is a hard sell for some candidates who fear they may lose. In addition, it is also easier to make hay with negative information than to actually campaign on the facts and issues that will affect our collective future.

As Gary Galles wrote in Capitol Weekly, "Reality is complex, but appropriately selected half-truths are simple and easier to "sell" to voters paying limited attention." If the candidate being attacked has a long public record, the strategy of negative campaigning can be more appealing, as well, because, as Galles points out, “Politics also involves compromise, and taken out of context, any compromise provides fodder for attacks that a candidate has abandoned principle."

It is also tragic when negative campaign tactics are applied in a Democrat vs. Democrat race because it hinders our ability to work together in the future by creating personal animosity or more deeply held emotional reactions that, for some people, may never heal.

If you would like to consider the roots of negative campaigning in Democrat vs. Democrat races, I suggest you follow this link: http://saigonbob.typepad.com/saigonbob/2006/05/smearing_congre.html to a blog article titled: “George Brown vs. John Tunney -- The Campaign that killed the Democratic Party,” by Bob Kholos. Near the end of his long, historical article, Mr. Kholos makes the rhetorical statement, "No wonder why people are turned off to politics." As a student who volunteered for George Brown's campaign, this story brought back painful memories and reminded me of the reasons I personally hold the deep belief that contests between the members of the Democratic Party should rise above negative campaigning strategies.

Yet, as we all know, this election year is turning nasty. But they always do.

When you cast your vote, I urge you to consider whether you are being unduly influenced by negative campaign tactics.  I urge you to vote for the candidate who most closely aligns with your values and who supports your point of view on the issues.