Following up on yesterday's post on the visit of Plainfield Council candidate Tony Rucker, Dwayne Wilkins and Councilor Bill Reid to 'Dee' Dameron's workplace (see here) --
First, apologies to Councilor Reid for misidentifying him as Mr. Rucker's campaign treasurer. Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Rucker have both cleared that up in comments made to that post;
Second, you will find that both Mr. Wilkins (in his comment to my post) and Mr. Rucker (in his post of today, see here) have laid out their version of events -- finally (this is the seventh day since the Town Hall meeting).
Third, while you will find that Messrs Rucker and Wilkins have issues with me and with Councilor Reid, you will not find a word of apology to Ms. Dameron for the discomfort the visit to her office caused her. (My mother taught me that sometimes you have to say you're sorry, even when you're not at fault.)
Fourth, none of this means that Reid's prior visit -- uninvited and unannounced -- to Ms. Dameron's workplace was anything less than highly inappropriate, if not part of a 'dirty trick' to put her in hot water with her employer.
Fifth, Mr. Wilkins did not hear, and Mr. Rucker fails to mention the advice I gave him after his explanation to Ms. Dameron: As a political candidate, one cannot simply assume one goes along blithely without asking questions of everyone and everything. I suggested the proper metaphor was 'defensive driving', trying to figure out what everyone else on the road is up to or likely to do, while at the same time operating your vehicle safely and getting to where you are going. It ain't as simple as it sounds.
All this being said, some questions remain --
- Will Mr. Reid apologize to Ms. Dameron?
- Will Mr. Rucker avoid further gaffes?
- Will Dan ever stop needling?
- Plainfield Today: "Rucker part of Jerry's first dirty trick of 2011 campaign?"
- The Queen City Progressive: "FOX News: Plainfield Style"
-- Dan Damon [follow]
Posts
8 comments:
I can apologize for reading your comment about Reid being treasurer without looking it up myself and taking umbrage with it prior to double checking. I am sorry for any comment made by me regarding Reid being treasurer for Tony Rucker.
I will add on my apology to Tony: See what little ethics and common sense Reid has.
If it wasn't planned intimidation then Reid is stupid.
If it was planned intimidation Reid is unethical.
Which of the 2 traits do you believe is best suited with dealing with a multimillion dollar budget ?
Stupid or unethical? Or a healthy mix of both ?
Yeah what's that all about. . . why did they wait 7 days? Maybe they were trying to get their stories straight, or maybe they were waiting for you to blog.
Either way they should have been all over it that day! Blogging, press releases, etc.
I hope if Rucker wins he is progressive, as he continues to state he is, and not a reactionary, as this past weeks events prove.
Dan:
answer to question #3: I hope not.
And using your link to an article in The NY Post about Jim McGreevey not making priesthood this good round, I was amazed to read an Episcopal Church official call him a "jackass." Not very churchly. And least not when talking to reporters for The NY Post.
How about an apology from you to Mr. Rucker? Or is that too much to ask since he's running against your friend Corey Storch?
Dan --
I agree going to anyone's place of work for a political discussion is inappropriate.
When I ran for council against Adrian and Don, I remember distinctly after a forum Rebecca asked me if I would drop from the race.
She was polite and respectful, citing the New Dems were worried I'd split the vote and Don would win. I wasn't offended, but said no.
Personally I think the more options voters have, the better.
While I am a democrat, I'm a more independent-leaning dem, and I have voted Republican in certain elections. I base my decisions on the individual, not the party or group. I consider it Plainfield's loss that we are essentially a one-party town -- debate and discussion from different perspectives is a good thing.
Anyway, being critical of Mr. Reid of asking Dee to drop out I think is hypocritical, given Rebecca, as Adrian's campaign manger, asked me to drop out. There is nothing wrong in asking a question.
I do agree it is fair to be critical of the place and time Mr. Reid chose to do it. It was not good judgment.
Olive Lynch
Dan, you owe Rucker an apology especially about Reid being his treasurer. After reading his response and account of what happened your story seems full of froth!
As I stated in my blog, I do not remember asking Olive to drop out of Adrian's 2008 race. I remember having a conversation with her on filing day, and I remember chatting with her once or twice afterward. We did have concerns about vote-splitting, but I truly don't remember asking her to drop out.
Also, I was never Adrian's campaign manager. Paul Phillips was his campaign manager and also served in that role for Adrian's mayoral run--if Olive would check the campaign literature from back then, she would see the truth. In addition, none of us were elected officials, which was really my point.
Rebecca
P.S. For the record, I also was not campaign manager for any of the school board candidates this year--or ever. Someone has been spamming bloggers with that lie (including me--which is really stupid).
Tony Rucker puts comments on your blog now. Seems like we know who the source of alot of the comments are. Maybe he made a mistake by putting it there? Now I know not to take alot of those seriously.
Post a Comment