Editor:
As recently reported in the local media, Tom Tiffany has tried to compare the recent false, misleading and last minute campaign pieces sent for some county board candidates to that of “the union’s” recommendation efforts in the 2012 county election. Mr. Tiffany’s feeble attempt was also trying to justify his supported candidates’ strategy this year of last-minute mailing to only one political party with “damming” attack ads.

While unions and the North Central Labor Coalition did do endorsements in ‘12, they were the result of months of research. Interested candidates were invited to interview with an NCLC committee if they wanted support. To my knowledge, a similar interview process, by those who put out the “dam plan” flier did not occur prior to the mailing Mr. Tiffany is trying to justify.

As for the NCLC, after interviews the committee recommended qualified candidates to the North Central Labor Committee Board, comprised of not only labor leaders, but grassroots community organizers and like-minded individuals. The board acted upon each recommendation. Again, that opportunity to my knowledge did not occur prior to the mailing Mr. Tiffany is trying to justify.

Candidates in the appropriate district were then identified to all union members regardless of their political persuasion with reasons to support them. It’s worth mentioning that none of the reasons included reasons not to support their opponents-unlike the mailings that Mr. Tiffany is trying to justify.
Compare the “union” process with the Tiffany attempted justification-false, last-minute electioneering that only slams opponents, and only mailed to a select few.

Do the actions of the Union in 2012 really justify the strategy this year of Mr. Tiffany’s supported candidates? Furthermore, could Mr. Jensen explain what he means by saying in the same article that the mailers contain “a little bit of puffery?” Is that really what we want from our elected officials?

Fred Andrist, NCLC Co-Chair