In recent weeks, Stacey Newman has been hitting Steve Brown in negative – and sometimes, outright false – mailers.
The Brown campaign sent an email to supporters recently, that addresses her negative attacks. I’ve posted a chunk of that email below.
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to: Supporters
from: Brown Campaign
Newman’s Cartoon Sideshow
While we have been working to unite the community, my competitor has been trying to distract voters with a cartoon sideshow. I don’t think most people are buying it, but I want you to know the truth about these attacks so that you can help us dispel the misleading and sometimes outright false characterizations Stacey Newman is putting forward.
For those of you who haven’t seen Stacey’ attack mailers, you can find copies of them on her attack website – http://www.truthaboutbrown.com
But don’t be fooled by the site’s title, there is little on the site or in Stacey’s negative campaign that is true about me. If you haven’t seen Newman’s negative attacks, take a look. It is strange and amazing how much time, energy, and money she has dedicated to transforming me from a lifelong community member who has been in and around public service for decades into a (heavy-set!) 1950s-style cartoon jerk who daydreams about swooping into the 73rd district to steal an election.
One important note on this subject: I have heard from many of you that you do not like these kinds of negative personal attacks from anyone. Don’t worry. We will not be responding in kind. I continue to dedicate my time, energy, and resources to a hard-working, grassroots, issues-based campaign. If you have any questions about these negative attacks, please call me at (314) 725-4866. I am more than happy to speak about Newman’s false allegations with anyone.
In most moments – because the attacks are so blatantly false – I don’t take them too personally. But then again, I hate the idea that anyone would believe the things she is saying about me. So, below, one of our campaign aides has catalogued all the mistruths and inaccuracies of this cartoon campaign against me.
-Steve Brown
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from: Campaign Aide
Here is an outline of Newman’s negative attacks, explanations of how they are false or misleading, and some information that you might use should you find yourself in a conversation with someone who has been misled by Newman’s campaign.
1) In her first hit piece – entitled “Keep on Movin'” – Newman suggests that Steve Brown is a carpetbagger who moved to the 73rd District so that he could run in this very election. Truth is, Steve moved BACK into this district over 5 years ago to raise a family. The idea that someone would move into a district over five years in advance of an election is kind of silly. But Newman’s charge is especially ridiculous considering that (while she is a Kansas native and long-time Illinois resident who only became interested in government relatively recently) Steve is a St. Louis County native who went to grade school and spent over 18 years of his life in the boundaries of the 73rd. And he has lived over 30 years in the county. All but his college years and a few years working for St. Louis area Congress Members Dick Gephardt and Joan Kelly Horn have been spent in St. Louis County.
2) In her second negative mail piece, Newman attacks Steve for accepting money from legislative committees. Newman refers to this as “Hid[ing] the Money.” To be completely honest, Newman does have a bit of a point here. Steve has accepted money from legislative committees. To be clear, Steve has violated no law or standard of ethical conduct set out by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Funny thing, though about Newman’s attack… She has done the same thing! (along with the vast majority of Democratic candidates running in the last few election cycles). Her latest finance report shows that she accepted money (in the very way for which she chides Steve) from the 15th Senate District Committee (controlled by one of her supporters), which had received money from the 24th Senatorial Committee (also controlled by one of her supporters). That 24th Committee has not yet filed their reports (in violation of MEC rules), so it is hard to tell who the money actually came from. (At least Steve’s fundraising documents were completely transparent.) Pot, meet Kettle.
3) Stacey’s third mailer – which is entirely false – says that Steve “gave himself the title of “Missouri Attorney General’s Deputy Chief Counsel'” for campaign purposes.
This is a clear falsehood as has been demonstrated on The Arch City Chronicle’s blog postings of July 23rd, 24th, and 29th which show Steve’s business card and even Jay Nixon’s original memo promoting Steve to the position of “Deputy Chief Counsel” in the Attorney General’s office. Newman’s campaign has tried to call their false accusation about Steve an “honest mistake,” but they have made no apologies about it, continue to level the charge on their attack website, and…
4) Newman’s 4th hit piece repeats all three charges above – including the one they know is blatantly false. But probably the biggest lie of all – the one that is evoked over and over by Newman’s campaign – is also the lowest by far. It is Newman’s claim that Steve is “really thinking about himself, not our community.”
What kind of thing is that to say about someone who has knocked on the door of every voter in this district multiple times to hear what they think and care about? A person who has held town hall meetings, coffees, BBQs, sent out surveys, and genuinely listened to voters and their concerns for months? A person who worked for the people of Missouri for ten years in the Attorney General’s office when he could have chosen a much more lucrative career as a private lawyer?
This is offensive. This is wrong.
Stacey’s final line of (what we hope is) her last negative and divisive attack is “Shouldn’t we look out for our community?”
If anything is threatening the sense of community in the 73rd district, it is the negativity and lies of Newman’s campaign – a campaign that is bent on dividing the thousands of supporters, local elected officials, mayors, school board members, labor unions, environmental groups, public safety organizations, women’s groups, and decent people of this district who have been uniting with Steve to form a vision of how we can move forward on the issues that we all care about.
If you know someone who is supporting Newman because they believe any of her lies about Steve, please set them straight. If they still want to vote for Newman that’s fine. This is a matter of principle. Steve has never been dishonest about his care for this district or his motives for running for State Representative and we hope you will convey that message to anyone who needs to hear it.
Thanks everybody!
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There are also reports from voters that Newman’s campaigners (including her campaign manager) have been telling people in Maplewood that Newman is the only pro-choice candidate in the race. ALSO NOT TRUE.
Despite all this, the Brown campaign says they are committed to staying positive.
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