ZAP! #54...May 5, 2011
Finally, the truth about incumbent mayor Gears’ “slumlord lawyer” character assassination ads against Joe Putnam are exposed. Funny thing about the truth, it really makes the fabricator of facts look unintelligent. Check out the Dallas Morning News link below and read what the CCR has been saying all along about Gears’ sleazy and vile ads.
And like the kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar (or highly paid Ft. Worth consultant’s back pocket in this instance), Gears ducks into petulant and arrogant mode, fails to take responsibility for his actions and certainly doesn’t “man up” by offering an apology to Joe Putnam. All this when confronted with proof and his acknowledgement of the falsehood of the ads.
Here’s Gears’ new spin on his "slumlord" accusation: “...he does not know of any specific instances where Putnam has made money defending substandard properties in the city.” Yes, you read that correctly. He doesn’t know and doesn’t have any proof. All of this is contrary to his ads and the disreputable web site that he established to perpetuate the lie.
Also, this is 180° from the tens of thousands of dollars he has spent in an attempt to scare voters into believing something that is fallaciously false. It’s one thing to appeal to voters, it’s definitely another to outright lie to them!
To add insult to injury, Gears’ even attempted to reflect that Putnam was suing the city on behalf of slum apartment owners in his ads. Again, not true! Gears was actually using the fact --in all his TV, web site and print ads -- that Putnam was a party to the law suit regarding the Voodoo Financing of the Entertainment Center as the basis for the "slumlord" representation. His flimsy excuse here was: “... no matter where the former mayor is, he is suing the city.” Once again, Gears’ highly paid consultant did an extremely poor job of cutting and pasting fact and turning it into untruthful fiction.
This ad issue is so germane to the mayor’s race, that the staff of the CCR is requesting that you forward this ZAP! to any and all of the folks on your personal e-mail lists. Irving can not be served if politicians are not willing to be truthful when campaigning for you vote. And it is now proven that the incumbent mayor has not been!
Not to be outdone, the above DMN article also doesn’t paint VanDuyne in a very positive or truthful mode. While not as untruthful as Gears’ fabrications, she dances and skirts around the truth as graceful as Ginger Rogers. The two facts she fails to mention in all her ads about the “increased debt” the city has incurred are that: 1) She was party to the approval of most of the debt; 2) The primary spike in the debt ($133 million) was the new Convention Center which she supported and was part of the overall approval process for.
But also like Gears, she is spending a ton of bucks on pricey consultants to scare voters into accepting facts that are not true and replete with hidden meanings.
This could be Chapter 2 in the sad tale of Irving’s mayoral race by VanDuyne where money is attempting to buy an election. When one looks at all the bucks pouring into the coffers of Gears and VanDuyne, voters should worry. Neither of the individuals seem content with addressing the genuine issues facing the city. Instead, Gears and VanDuyne attack each other.
We’ll say it again. Joe Putnam is not financed by special interest groups, Bag Men for the Entertainment Center, the firemen’s union PAC or north Irving developers. His campaign has been honest, straightforward and addressed the critical issues facing Irving with each of his mailings and campaign materials.
Isn’t this the type of public servant you want and deserve representing your interest at city hall?
.............Mark Holbrook
