The Tom Henry for Mayor website is now up and running. It is fairly simple at this time, but I hope (and assume) it will be fleshed out in the next few weeks. And, I mean the next few weeks – the earlier the better. The Tom Henry for Mayor website has a link that states, “Watch this space for Tom’s statements on the issues. They will be posted here as his ideas for the future of Fort Wayne are unveiled.” I absolutely support Tom Henry, and I believe he is, by far and away, the best qualified candidate. However, many voters only have a vague idea of the qualifications and positions of the mayoral candidates.
Last year, Tom Hayhurst’s campaign manager made the decision to slowly release Dr. Hayhurst’s positions beginning late in the summer. Despite several of us who urged early release, Dr. Hayhurst’s positions were held until late in the season. This left too little time for the voter to get a sense of who Tom was and his qualifications for the office of Third District Representative. It also gave precious little time to combat Souder’s relentless campaign of misrepresentations, half-truths, and outright lies about Tom and his positions. I was involved in Tom’s campaign early on, and I, along with many others, watched in dismay as Souder attacked Tom’s character and vision. All of us knew we had a wonderful, knowledgeable, dedicated, and learned candidate who was best qualified for the office. We knew that – but the public needed to know that also.
I hope that Tom Henry’s campaign manager does not make the same mistake and withhold Tom Henry’s positions until it is too late.
Position papers are valuable tools for a campaign, and they should be prepared well in advance. I urge Jason Ascher, Tom’s campaign manager, and Tom to provide Tom’s positions as quickly as possible so that the voting public can see what a truly qualified candidate the Democratic ticket has in Tom Henry.
The voting public (at least those who care enough to vote) want to know about the candidates and their positions – and they want to know sooner than later. Positions on issues need to be provided to the public as soon as possible so that voters can learn about the candidate. Candidates should not be afraid to release positions and to argue and support those positions throughout the campaign.
While this is not a congressional election, it is an election which will determine the future path of Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne is the second largest city in Indiana, and we need a leader like Tom Henry who will commit to the future of Fort Wayne not one who will take the city backward like Matt Kelty.
Matt Kelty’s website is replete with large words, hollow statements, and self-aggrandizing comments. His website is a work of art as far as smoke and mirrors go. Visit his website and read each of his statements followed by his “Action Plan.” I did, and I felt like the Aflac duck shaking his head in confusion. Many of Kelty’s statements and positions are simply that with no real substance. Smoke and mirrors is a phrase which means “something that distorts or blurs facts, figures, etc., like a magic or conjuring trick; artful deception.” Kelty’s website is pure smoke and mirrors.
