Wilkowski announces pulling all advertising mentioning Bell
This in via e-mail from the Wilkowski for Mayor campaign:
Wilkowski Offers Hopeful Vision As Opponent’s Attacks Grow More Desperate
New television ads titled “Pride” and “Brighter Future” stand in stark contrast to misleading character attacks by independent Mike Bell
Toledo, OH – With just days remaining until the November 3rd election, the contrast between the candidates for Mayor of Toledo could not be more clear.
While independent Mike Bell’s campaign is ratcheting up his negative ad blitz and attacking Endorsed Democrat Keith Wilkowski’s character, the Wilkowski campaign is pulling all advertising mentioning Bell or highlighting contrasts.
Wilkowski will close his campaign with two new thirty-second ads in which he talks directly to the camera about his positive vision for Toledo’s future.
In the ad entitled “Pride,” Wilkowski says, “My wife and I raised our family here. Our grand kids are here and I want them to know this city with the same pride I’ve always had for it.”
In the ad entitled “Brighter Future,” Wilkowski pledges to go to work on day one with his plan to bring jobs to Toledo and says, “I know Toledo can do more than just survive. We can thrive.”
See “Pride” here: LINK
See “Brighter Future” here: LINK
“The election is days away and Mike Bell has not run a single positive television ad,” noted Ben Krompak, Wilkowski’s chief campaign strategist. “Toledoans deserve more from a candidate for Mayor than pessimistic rhetoric and misleading attacks.”
From the beginning I have thought that
either would would be the best leader
and Mayor for Toledo; however, I do
need to agree that Bell’s last several
ads are displeasing and are getting
away from the issues.
Mr. Bell needs to go back to what he
October 30th, 2009 at 12:13 amcan do to help the citizens of Toledo
and how he can and will do it!!
Yea, what a sham move. After all the Wilko misleading ads and mailings….more of the same…..
October 30th, 2009 at 7:02 amplease detail what wilkowski has been misleading about in ads and mailings? have there been discussions here about how he has been misleading that you can point me to?
October 30th, 2009 at 8:29 amIt appears that Bell and his handlers are resorting to any tactic they can at this point. Bell is trailing in the poles and rightfully so. Bell has no platform. It appears odd to me that Bell can critisize and try to minimize Wilkowsk’s role in past economic development, but Bell himself, to my knowledge, has’nt had any role in economic development at anytime or anywhere. If we were electing a ceremonial mayor, Mike Bell might be okay as mayor of Toledo. The reality is that Toledo needs a mayor with skills who can and will hit the ground running on November 4,2009, not go on vacation. Wilkowski is the candidate who has the skills and can hit the ground running. Also, Keith Wilkowski is a super nice guy.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:47 amClassic campaign tactic – run (either yourself or your supporters) a bunch of negatives ads about your opponent and when opponent decides to respond, announce you’re going to stop all that negative stuff and be positive…
Of course, you’ve already gotten your negative stuff into the minds of the voters so you don’t lose… (And you’ve never denounced the negative ads run on your behalf…
And don’t you look good saying you’re going to stay positive???
Classic – and obvious – to those who watch this sort of thing. But Wilkowski does gets credit for good timing on the strategy.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:39 amSham indeed!
October 30th, 2009 at 10:43 amhummmm… the republicans are coming out in support of bell.
so… bell said he would raise taxes and keith has pointed this out in commercials. unless you think raising taxes is a bad thing to do, why is that a negative ad? do you agree with wilkowski that raising taxes is the wrong course of action? if you do agree (as a reagan conservative would), why not support wilkowski on this issue?
if bell mentioned wilkowski’s stand on taxes or any item in his platform i would not view that as a negative unless it was mischaracterized. i don’t think wilkowski mischaracterized bell’s stand on raising taxes.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:44 amThis is a classic campaign, one where both sides engage in typical political behavior, where one claims to not be part of the political machine, where both sides go negative while saying they aren’t going to go negative. Where there is a focus on either the past or one or two statements placed in a specific message context. Both sides will exaggerate their accomplishments and exaggerate the flaws of the other candidate.
Where people who have their own motivations create a “message” that a campaign eventually picks up. Shanahan is a great example, never once was the connection or motivation looked at but what she pointed out was put out there tested, then picked up by the Bell campaign. Though I was surprised that Harry Barlos decided to get involved, it’s not a total shocker that he would join those who had an issue with Wilkowski.
Then of course we have the same thing that always happens, those who support one candidate don’t examine them with same microscope they put to the candidate they don’t like. With some feeling they don’t want either.
At the end of the day, whoever wins on November 3, what can be said is this could be the final test of the Strong Mayor form of government. We’ve been told to give it a test beyond the two men who actually created it, and neither of them are running for Mayor.
Both campaigns have “said” things I think would have been better not made a focus, Bell’s decision to run as an independent will either be the smartest political move or the mistake, from an inside baseball politics position, it created a line of attack that would not have existed and allowed the ODP to become more involved.
I’ve had everyone ask me my prediction, I think Wilkowski has the edge but it will hinge on not only what the voter turnout is but who the voter turnout is made up of. If the low primary turnout is an indication, whoever wins could be the campaign with the best GOTV.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:56 amzimmy Says:
“hummmm… the republicans are coming out in support of bell.
…do you agree with wilkowski that raising taxes is the wrong course of action? …why not support wilkowski on this issue?”
Can’t trust wilkowski, like obama he will probably lie about the taxes. We don’t need no marxists.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:58 pmNot Again, that actually wasn’t what Zimmy was asking.
He was asking so republicans would rather support someone who has at least suggested he would consider raising taxes as opposed to someone who has made it clear that’s not a consideration.
Obama and Wilkowksi are Democrats not Marxists.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:04 pmI keep asking…Wilkowski (and his father before him) have held elected office in the community, or worked behind the scenes for decades.
He is responsible as much as anyone for the current sad state of the community.
If he’s had all of these grand plans to bring prosperity back to our dying home why hasn’t he proposed them earlier? Did he but people weren’t paying attention?
Maybe he didn’t have enough power to implement his schemes but becoming Mayor will solve that problem?
Perhaps he was holding back while we suffer in decline plotting his moment to save us from our ignorant selves?
Or could it be that this is all a bunch of B.S that he made-up in the last few months knowing full well it will do nothing? Worse yet, does he believe his hot air?
I can never figure out which is worse; the person who knowingly says things he can’t possibly achieve just to get elected or the person who truly believes that they have the power and intelligence to save men from themselves.
All that to say, Wilkowski is morally culpable for our current condition and to deny that is to lie to yourself.
October 30th, 2009 at 6:00 pmLisa,
How did Harry Barlos get involved? I missed that…
October 30th, 2009 at 6:06 pmMaggie,
There is a diffence in what Wilkowski has done and what Bell is trying to do. Wilkowski has told the truth. Bell saying that Wilkowski hasn’t done anything ever is an outright falsehood.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:46 pmBarlos was a former county commissioner, clerk of courts, and Maumee mayor. He was doing a decent job then some union leader by the name of Lloyd Mahaffey had a severe temper tantrum that Barlos would not pay any attention to him, so he engineered Peter Gerken to run for Barlos’ seat in 2004. Barlos ran as an independent instead of a Democrat and he lost.
The Barlos debacle led to Paula Ross getting booted out of the party chairmanship by the B-Team Democrats. Mr. Barlos was offered a dual endorsement after the Bteam took over but he refused it, which i thought was a dumb move. Harry is a great guy, decent commish, and was screwed over by his party and a disingeniuous(spelling) union stooge.
It seems like Harry may be wanting a little revenge which I don’t blame him! However, he is right in coming out against Mr. Wilkowski, I feel that Keith is blowing his participation in the tax agreements way out of proportion. Plus he voted to raise taxes when he was commish.
October 31st, 2009 at 7:21 amAnd now we see all the great things Peter Gerken has done for the area. (Sarcasm)
October 31st, 2009 at 7:22 amMike Bell walked our West Toledo neighborhood yesterday campaigning one last time, and his appearance alone would garner my vote. Why? Because it was logical and we need a logical person as mayor. If you are going to walk many miles in a day, do you do it in jeans and tennis shoes to be comfortable and get more done, or do you do it in a suit and dress shoes to impress people? Now, do I really care what they were wearing? Absolutely not. All I am saying is that rather that worrying about impressing the voters with his looks, Mike Bell threw on a ball cap and his tennis shoes to get his word out, not his political image. I want someone who is not out to impress others, but out to get more done. He is raw, but that is because he is not the same old politician. I think we could use a little of that in our city.
November 1st, 2009 at 1:41 pmglass city pat.
wilkowski is no more to blame for the current situation than you and less than bell. wilkowski has NOT been aligned with carty at all and jack ford worked nearly alone – that’s 16 years of pretty bad city administration that wilkowski had nothing to do with.
wilkowski decided he thought he could help the citizens of toledo and he developed a plan. you can disagree with that plan, but you, instead, try to make it sound evil to make the effort to offer thoughtful ideas and present them to voters. all of your sentences start with conjecture… “maybe”, “perhaps”, “could it be” …all this guessing on your part shows you are not dealing with facts and merely trying to create doubt.
can’t you actually address the substance of his proposals and refute those or is this strictly a character attack – where is your moral culpability?
bell, on the other hand, worked closely with carty for most of his 12 years in office and is currently supported by carty and his machine. bell had carty’s ear but was not able to help turn around the city around and does not appear to have a well thought out plan to do so now.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:40 pmAs a conservative, with Christian values I appreciate this move. It’s long over due that a candidate will stand up and state their own agenda rather than just slamming their opponent.
Anybody who says this isn’t a welcome change from politics as usual isn’t being honest.
But I see who is being honest and who isn’t above. And frankly there aren’t any surprises.
The only surprise is those folks still think they have any credibility with anybody.
November 1st, 2009 at 10:11 pmThe City should be about doing business. Wilkowski’s plan is about doing business for us in Toledo.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:25 amZimmy,
How did Mike Bell, (Mayor Elect, City of Toledo) Have Carty’s ear and fail to save the city from it’s current situation ?? Mike Bell was the Fire Chief. I don’t see the Fire Chief steering the direction of the City. Just the Fire Dept.
TPD
November 4th, 2009 at 2:40 ambell has a strong relationship with carty and worked with him on a regular basis. he was in a position to be able to get his views across on the governance of the city including budget considerations. bell would have been at meetings all the time with other department heads and, if he would have cared, had input – that is far more than what wilkowski had.
specifically, bell, as chief, was the top administrator for the city and should have been advocating positions that were beneficial to the administration and the entire electorate. instead bell negotiated contracts that are incredibly overly generous to fire fighters and with a bloated bureaucracy thanks to “minimum staffing” requirements that are ridiculously top-heavy. these have led to the financial crisis the city of toledo faces.
now, with bell as mayor, the city can expect to continue to way over-pay fire and police while the remainder of services decline and taxes go up. unless he decides to work on behalf of the entire population of the city rather than just the safety forces, the same fate as youngstown, flint, and detroit awaits toledo. things are going to get much worse before they get better.
as far as “mayor elect” – good luck with that. it is far easier when life is about “getting power” rather than “good governance” – ask newt gingrich. i hope for the best but at this point…
November 4th, 2009 at 10:08 amI don’t expect bell to do much in the way of improvements to the economic picture in toledo. He doesn’t seem to be all that ambitious. Things will probably remain stagnant under his term, regardless of possible economic recovery elswhere. But going nowhere is better than developing into a 3rd would slum, which would have happened, in my opinion, under wilkoski.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:26 amThat would not have happened, but? Toledo spoke once again, making me wonder about some of our electorate. You don’t have to attend Council meetings to get elected, you can be one of the more divisive school board members to get elected and Toledo evidently prefers someone who doesn’t have specifics. What all three of those shared was a more charismatic personality, which is what some in Toledo have voted on before and clearly enough voted on yesterday.
Then on the flip side you have McNamara, Sarantou and Ludeman as the top three. Men who have more substance than style, yesterday’s vote was a great demonstration on how split Toledo is. I hope Bell and Council can figure out a way to move forward. Stagnating should not be an option…
November 4th, 2009 at 10:41 amHey Zimmy,
Mike Bell as the Fire Chief, had some input in the collective barganing process. But the budgets/contracts are approved by the mayor and the city council.
I have read your posts on other threads and responded to them. You don’t know the facts. You are using the Blade’s talking points, and are unwilling to see the actual numbers.
NOBODY in a meeting with Carty would have any input. Trust me when I say I’ve been around the man when he didn’t like (the truth) that he was being told, and threw a temper tantrum until he was told whatever he wanted to hear. That is not a situation where an “at will” employee (ie: Fire Chief) would stand up and argue with the Mayor.
Zimmy it’s obivious that your are not seeing the big picture and what is facing this city. It has so much wrong with it and all you seem to focus on are the police and fire departments. That is not the entire problem.
Again, I invite you to 1947 Franklin Ave to see the ACTUAL numbers that were discussed in fact finding. But you won’t come and see. Once you do have the FACTS you will not have an argument anymore.
I hope that as Mayor, Mike Bell will respect the contracts of the employees of the City, and not use them as “guidelines” that need not be adheared to. Jack Smith was the Chief of Police for about 4 months, he tried to talk to the Mayor about what was best for the City. He retired after the Mayor screamed at him for the 2-3 time. The mayor was mad that the TPPA was picketing the safety building over stalled contract talks. Carty wanted the officers fired and arrested. Jack Smith said they were exercising their RIGHTS. Carty screamed, Jack Smith retired. So I guess Bell would have had alot more influence over the Mayor ?? Probably not.
The more I read your posts, the more I’m sure you just don’t like the Police.
TPD
November 5th, 2009 at 1:00 amHey Zimmy,
Mike Bell as the Fire Chief, had some input in the collective barganing process. But the budgets/contracts are approved by the mayor and the city council.
I have read your posts on other threads and responded to them. You don’t know the facts. You are using the Blade’s talking points, and are unwilling to see the actual numbers.
NOBODY in a meeting with Carty would have any input. Trust me when I say I’ve been around the man when he didn’t like (the truth) that he was being told, and threw a temper tantrum until he was told whatever he wanted to hear. That is not a situation where an “at will” employee (ie: Fire Chief) would stand up and argue with the Mayor.
Zimmy it’s obivious that your are not seeing the big picture and what is facing this city. It has so much wrong with it and all you seem to focus on are the police and fire departments. That is not the entire problem.
Again, I invite you to 1947 Franklin Ave to see the ACTUAL numbers that were discussed in fact finding. But you won’t come and see. Once you do have the FACTS you will not have an argument anymore.
I hope that as Mayor, Mike Bell will respect the contracts of the employees of the City, and not use them as “guidelines” that need not be adheared to. Jack Smith was the Chief of Police for about 4 months, he tried to talk to the Mayor about what was best for the City. He retired after the Mayor screamed at him for the 2-3 time. The mayor was mad that the TPPA was picketing the safety building over stalled contract talks. Carty wanted the officers fired and arrested. Jack Smith said they were exercising their RIGHTS. Carty screamed, Jack Smith retired. So I guess Bell would have had alot more influence over the Mayor ?? Probably not.
The more I read your posts, the more I’m sure you just don’t like the Police.
TPD
November 5th, 2009 at 1:00 am