News release from the Henry for Mayor campaign:
The real record on Paula Hughes
(October 25, 2011) – Today Allen County Democratic Party Spokesman Kevin Knuth condemned Paula Hughes’s negative, inaccurate and misleading campaign commercials and statements on behalf of the Henry for Mayor campaign. Knuth was joined by local neighborhood leaders and activists who support Mayor Henry’s commitment to leaf-pickup and snow removal — in stark contrast to Hughes’s recent statement in the Journal Gazette calling leaf-pickup a “luxury,” and her record on County Council of cutting snow removal.
“Paula Hughes has a run a negative and dishonest campaign — she hasn’t been telling the truth and she’s not starting now,” said Allen County Democratic Party Spokesman Kevin Knuth. “She’s mislead residents about everything from leaf pick-up, to snow removal, to her years of voting for tax increases. If she’ll twist the truth and say anything to try and win an election, we can’t trust Hughes with our city’s future.”
THE FACTS ABOUT PAULA HUGHES’S RECORD:
- Hughes said she would cut “wasteful spending.”[1] On October 9th 2011, Paula Hughes told the Journal Gazette that she considers leaf pick-up a “luxury,” and wasn’t sure that it was a “priority.”[2]
- In 2008, Hughes voted to cut 19 employees from the Highway Department — the department responsible for snow removal.[3][4] The Journal Gazette detailed the detrimental effect these cuts had on snow removal:Â “Highway officials said at the time they would send 10 to 12 fewer trucks out to plow snow along county roads because of the cuts. This would cause the department to need another hour to 90 minutes to clear main roads, a spokeswoman said at the time.”[5]
- When confronted about her cuts to snow removal, Hughes accused “the mayor of lying about the snow removal.”[6]
THE FACTS ABOUT PAULA HUGHES’S INNACCURATE PAID ADS:
- The News-Sentinel noted that Hughes’s primary campaign “offered a textbook example of why so many people have so little faith in politics and the people who practice it.”[7]
- In her advertisements, when talking about jobs losses, Hughes purposefully used inaccurate data that included areas outside of the city. See graphic below and online here for details:
- In her advertisements, Paula Hughes is attacking the mayor for supporting the move to Citizen Square. What she’s not telling people is that while on County Council, she herself voted to support the move.[8] Watch video of Hughes voting for the move here.
[1] “City Election Hopefuls vie for neighborhood votes,” Sheckler, The News-Sentinel, 9/30/11
[2] “City Services a Pivotal Task for Mayors,” Lanka, The Journal Gazette, 10/9/2011
[3] “Southwest Annexation Leads to Elimination of 19 Highway Department Jobs” Lengerich, News-Sentinel, 7/18/2007
[4] “Allen County Council Meeting Minutes,” 9/20/2007.
[5] “Snow and leaves,” Kelly/Lanka, Journal Gazette, 10/23/2011
[6] “Overblown Mayoral Issue,” Warner, The Journal Gazette, 10/25/11
[7] “Hughes Defends Strategy,” Leininger, The News-Sentinel, 5/5/11
[8] “County Council Approves Renaissance Square Plans,” Iacone, The Journal Gazette, 4/16/10
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