The candy is on the shelves, children are all talking about what kind of costume they will wear and parents are deciding whose turn it is to walk the children around the neighborhood. It’s time for the ghosts and goblins to come out. It’s the Halloween season.
But to candidates running for office, “trick or treat” has a whole different meaning. Historically, the Halloween “October Surprise” has always been feared by every candidate. Many will even take down their signs for a couple of days just to avoid the expense of replacing them, either due to vandals or political opponents.
Of course, the big worry for candidates isn’t really their signs. It is whether or not their opponent will hit them with an allegation or last-minute mailer that can change the outcome of the election by turning a possible victory into a loss. Some candidates go to the extra expense of sending out an inoculation card, which tells voters not to believe anything they get in the mail around Halloween.
On the other hand, if your election is close and you want to increase your chances of winning, what better time to send out a mailer telling the voters something awful about your opponent then a few weeks before the election?
The bigger the race, the harder the politics.
Control of the state Senate could hinge on one of four contests being waged around the state. With long-time Democratic incumbent Tracey Eide not running in the 30th District, the race between Democrat, Shari Song and Republican, Mark Miloscia could be critical to who controls the Senate in January.
If you watched television last week or checked your mailbox, you know Halloween is near and the end of the campaign season is not far behind.
Independent special interest groups that are affiliated with the Republican party have been mailing literature over the last few weeks attacking Song and accusing her of being a carpetbagger by moving here to run for office. They also say that she ran for the County Council on the east side of the county last year. That part is true, she did run for office in another community, but she didn’t just move here. Song actually moved “back “ here, into the same neighborhood where her relatives live.
Her opponents fail to mention that she is a former Federal Way resident and was very active in the community before she moved away. But in political terms, the allegation has stuck and made winning a long shot for her. Republican Miloscia was elected to the state Legislature from this area several times as a Democrat and switched parties. His previous elections have given him name familiarity and experience. He would be difficult to beat under any circumstances.
Groups that provide “independent” support for candidates are not supposed to coordinate with the candidates campaign that they are trying to help. Miloscia’s campaign has only raised the residency issue indirectly, but the allegation while only partially accurate, has clearly hurt Song.
Another local race that has attracted the attention of special interest groups, and appears close, is the one between incumbent Democratic House member Roger Freeman and Republican businessman Jack Dovey.
The Democratic Central Committee recently sent out a mailing that raised questions about Dovey and his business practices, including alleging a failure to pay property taxes, Internal Revenue Service tax liens and lawsuits involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. It questioned whether Dovey could be trusted to handle the public’s money. The governmental records referenced give the allegation political weight, and they appear to be accurate, although some don’t have dates included and one appears to be over 20 years old. Dovey says most of the issues have been cleared up. How accurate the allegations are, and how Dovey answers the questions will be critical to how the public reacts.
But with two well known and well liked candidates, like Freeman and Dovey, just one error or allegation that isn’t well explained to the public could spell the difference between winning and losing.
Song has done a good job of explaining her long attachment to Federal Way, but it may not be enough. Dovey’s situation is more complicated and will require a far more detailed explanation. But keep in mind, we still have three weeks to go! Expect to see more.
And how much will these Halloween “trick or treats” hurt or help the candidates? That’s up to you as a voter. But maybe at a minimum you should ask the legislative candidates, if they are elected, to vote to require expenditures to be made directly to the candidates in the form of donations so we hold them accountable. Third party attacks by groups some voters don’t know allows candidates to avoid accountability. Transparency in government and elections should be all candidates’ goal.
Bob Roegner is a former mayor of Auburn: bjroegner@comcast.net.
