WPCNR MR. & MRS. & MS. WHITE PLAINS VOICE. September 15, 2005: The Campaign Manager for Dennis Power takes exception to the WPCNR News Commentary (Wanted for Giving Away an Election) on the intensity of the Power campaign so far:
Dear Mr. Bailey:
As campaign manager for Dennis Power, I would like to respond to Monday's scathing indictment of the Democratic campaign thus far. You raise a number of issues and concerns. I will try to answer them.
Firstly, and most important, the party is engaged in a campaign for Mayor and three Council seats in White Plains this fall. There is an active "Power for Mayor" campaign committee which has been meeting throughout the summer, and is ready to go into a higher gear these final eight weeks. The campaign has a website at www.powerformayor.com .
Each of the three Council candidates has a committee as well. In addition, the entire team has conducted regular meetings and is working together on a unified campaign. The City Democratic Committee stands behind all of this structure and will marshal the manpower as we approach election day.
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You say that you have not seen enough evidence of a campaign. You will. Lawn signs and store signs are going out this week, so that aspect of visibility will be on the rise. Press releases will continue. Neighborhood associations, the League of Women Voters, and other groups will host debates. Neighborhood walks will continue.
Your own excellent summary of last night's meeting on the Comprehensive Plan Review certainly shows an uptick in the campaign temperature. You led with what was certainly the "sound bite" of the session. Mr. Power, while praising the work of these devoted citizens, indicted the administration for foot-dragging and only starting the review when forced by the existence of an independent non-partisan group. He questioned the ability of the Review Committee to do a proper job while hamstrung by lack of a budget, and lack of access to any independent advice outside of the administration.
Is that story covered in today's Journal News? Have any of Mr. Power's statements over the last three months been given adequate coverage other than in your column? Perhaps we have not staged enough campaign events in these early months, but getting any notice by media is problematic. The Watch does well, but so far is a monthly. Yours is the only full-time coverage of the city. But you and all of your readers know that.
Your article devotes much space to reviewing the nominating process. You quite accurately list the other possible candidates and their reasons for declining to run. Where you err is in your assertion that Mr. Power "was talked into running" only after Ron Jackson's hat was tossed into the ring. That's a major inaccuracy which does a disservice to both Mr. Power and Mr. Jackson, as well as the party leadership. Mr. Power's candidacy was in the works; his decision to run was delayed; it was not brought about in the way that you suggest.
I will not go on at greater length here. You raised many campaign issues in offering a "campaign playbook" in June, and reiterated some of them this week. Suffice it to say that you will hear from Mr. Power on many, if not all of these.
To suggest that the party is engaged in anything less than an all-out campaign, a strategy that would be dishonest and self-destructive, represents either a complete misunderstanding of reality, or your own tactic for prodding us to a more aggressive level of action. I prefer to choose the latter interpretation, and to thank you for your contribution to the debate.
As I have said before, this is the only forum that I know of for daily news and opinion in our city. I wish that your readership were tenfold.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond in this space.
Sincerely,
Paul Schwarz
Campaign Manager
Power for Mayor
