Last Thursday night, our signs went up and disappeared by Friday afternoon. As such, our political signs were not seen the weekend of November 20th and we were left wondering what had become of them. As noted in a previous posting, my opponent was seen at a site at the time that the signs were removed and it naturally raised our suspicion. When confronted by two of our volunteers he noted that I had to have letters of permission to post the signs, which indicates two things. 1) He has been busy looking for ways to sabotage my campaign rather than engage in a fair democratic process. 2) He does not know or understand the election rules by which we are governed. Had Mr. Aelion read the rules, he would know that a letter of permission is not required. The City prefers that a letter be provided, but it does not have the authority to demand anything beyond what is set forth in the official election rules. I know the City is aware of this distinction because they removed some of our signs in the previous election, and I made this same argument, which they had to concede. Therefore, when Mr. Aelion told my volunteers that the City had removed my signs, I had difficulty believing it because I did not think that the City would have such a short memory. But apparently it does. After being invisible for the weekend, I recovered my signs from Code Enforcement, and they were put back on Collins Monday afternoon.
By Tuesday afternoon, the vast majority of the signs had disappeared once again. I tried contacting the RK Office to check if I had been the victim of another mistake that conveniently benefits my opponent. I thought perhaps RK maintenance, unaware that I had gotten permission from the owner and his son, might have mistakenly taken them down. I was very disappointed to find that there was no mistake at all. It seems Mr. Aelion, who is an RK tenant, called in a favor and requested that my signs be removed. Consequently, RK went back on their word and took down the signs, which they have the right to do. However, no one had the courtesy to call or email me regarding the decision, causing me to waste time at City Hall and filing police reports. I do not begrudge RK protecting their interests, if that is what they think they are doing by breaking their vow of neutrality. I resent that my volunteers’ hard work was undone by a man who claims that his life has always been about doing what’s right (this is a statement in one of Aelion’s mailings). I guess for the next mailing he can edit that sentence to: Everything in Isaac Aelion’s life has been about doing what’s right unless something else would benefit him more.
Throughout the campaign I have been asked my opinion of my opponent. I always stated that he seemed like a nice guy, but that we differed on the issues. I would not make that statement today. After seeing his involvement with the conveniently anonymous mailings of the last election and his apparent inability to participate in a fair fight, it is clear that it is not our points of view that differ, but rather our moral fiber. I actually have some. And it is what keeps me focused and pushing forward. If I truly want to be the people’s voice, I cannot be cheapened by politics as usual. I will leave that to Mr. Aelion, who is clearly more interested in ascending to power than being an exemplary leader — yet another point on which we differ.
Still fighting the good fight,
Jeniffer
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. — Edmund Burke