While candidates for public office refrain from campaigning on September 11th and (out of common decency) refuse to exploit the emotions surrounding the day of prayer and reflection in America, City Council Candidate Israel Reyes decided capitalize on it. Residents of Lawrence received a campaign flier in the mail with the phrase " The most precious freedom of all…..VOTING!" with a picture of a furling flag on one side and political endorsements from the Mayor and Isabel Melendez on the other. Though the flier did not mention
September 11th specifically, the campaign material was
carefully calculated to arrive in mailboxes on the
anniversary of the day when the entire nation was
remembering and mourning the deaths of thousands of
American by fanatical terrorists. Many area residents lost friends and loved ones on that day and the emotions surrounding the event have been largely respected by political candidates careful not to exploit the tragedy for political gain. The campaign flier sent out by the Reyes not only says something about Mr. Reyes, but also raises some alarming issues as the country begins to heal and move further in time away from the event of September 11, 2001. Is this the beginning of a new trend in politics? It may be. Once a candidate like Reyes breaks ranks with fellow office seekers and takes advantage of such an event, other office seekers usually follow suit. Is this the direction political campaigns will take in coming elections? The possible precedent set by the Reyes campaign must be condemned it the strongest possible terms. The media and the public must demand an apology from Reyes and Reyes should have the good sense to apologize for making a very bad decision. Israel Reyes has a lot going for him in
this election and has a better than 50/50 chance of
beating Nunzio DiMarca in the November final. He has the endorsement of the Mayor and State Rep. Willie Lantigua as well as Isabel Melendez and State Rep. Barry Finegold. He has tons of cash and high visibility. He has name recognition and a record on the planning board to run on. There simply isn't any need for him to exploit 9/11 to win a political campaign. One has to hope that the decision of the Reyes campaign to send out this literature is not the beginning of another tradition in politics. Reyes should know better and the people making the decisions in his campaign (Lantigua, Tommy Sullivan, Mike Sullivan and Barry Finegold) should also know better. |
Paying Attention Index |
