Negative Campaigning

I was disappointed to open my mailbox Friday afternoon and find a piece of negative campaign literature from mayoral candidate Shirl LeBaron. I expected better of him.

The mailer, with its unflattering mug shot of the Harrington School and its distorted spin on the RDA vote, suggests to me that LeBaron feels no concern for the blight in our city's core, and thinks nothing of dragging our city's foremost historic treasure through another mud fight.

The voters might or might not count these as negatives against him. That remains to be seen.

But the clear negative is the attack itself.

Negative campaigning is a bad idea in any race. It cheapens the political process, and it usually backfires.

Negative campaigning is a particularly bad idea in a small town. No matter what happens in the mayoral race, all three candidates will continue to work together on the various issues that dog American Fork. LeBaron has just sacrificed his ability, after the election, to forge a positive relationship with two key American Fork players.

Does LeBaron doubt his ability to promote a positive agenda?

If I know Heber, he won't dignify this with a response.