By Robert J. McCarthy:
Don’t look now, but the 2011 campaign for county executive is under way.
Democrat Mark C. Poloncarz has fired the first shot of the young contest, dispatching his first news release from his new spokeswoman that slams Republican incumbent Chris Collins for allegedly using county equipment for political purposes.
Jennifer Hibit, Poloncarz’s new campaign manager, accuses Collins of using the Rath County Office Building to disseminate automated calls inviting voters to participate in a “tele-town hall” meeting to discuss his “platform.”
“Chris Collins knows that he is forbidden from using his government office to further his political career, yet as usual, he ignores the rules,” Hibit said. “In an election year, Collins is campaigning by using the county’s phone system to call countless county residents to advance his failed agenda. That is wrong and is just another example that Chris Collins chooses to sidestep the rules.”
Until now, both sides of the county executive contest have operated mostly in a behind-the-scenes manner—organizing staff and raising money. But the Poloncarz broadside indicates that the campaign has now officially begun, even though no significant amounts have been spent on media advertising.
And while the Poloncarz campaign is not required to divulge any of its internal fundraising information until July 15, it is not expected to even approach the at least $1.5 million privately mentioned by Collins supporters.
Collins spokesman Grant Loomis dismissed Poloncarz’s initial volley by explaining that automated phone calls are sent out about every other month, allowing Collins to focus on some aspect of county business and invite residents to call in. In the latest effort, he said, Collins answered about seven or eight calls on the county’s new four-year financial plan. “We focus on county business; a county topic,” he said. “It’s no different than a member of the Assembly or Senate sending out a newsletter.”
While Hibit did not challenge the incumbent on the financial source for the calls, she did question use of county equipment for what she called a political event.
Loomis said the phone calls are paid for by Collins for Our Future, the county executive’s campaign fund. But he said the campaign found no problem in using the county executive’s office or the county telephone system to conduct the calls. “We think what we are doing is completely above board,” he said. “We’re communicating with taxpayers about county business.”