New Ads, Former Presidents And Other Senate Updates

I was out of the newsroom for a large part of today working for the pledge drive. There have been a few updates in the Senate race. Here they are, starting with news related to policy and issues:

• The DSCC has a new ad that hits Rand Paul on his previous support of a higher national sales tax in place of a federal income tax.*
• The United Mine Workers union is criticizing Paul on mine safety
• Bill Clinton will again campaign for Jack Conway
• Paul may not debate Jack Conway on KET
• The NoZe Brotherhood–which Paul was apparently a part of in college–has a paper trail
• But Paul says he’s never written anything “un-Christian”

*Paul has said he wants to first cut spending before talking about tax changes, but he’s open to anything that will lower income taxes.

Audio: Endorsement Accusations Continue

Former Democratic mayoral candidate Tyler Allen says he was not promised any input in the next mayoral administration in exchange for his endorsement.

Earlier today, Metro Council President Tom Owen said he had talked with Allen in September, and Allen said he had been promised “significant input” in a potential Hal Heiner administration, should he endorse the Republican in the general election.

“I don’t know how Tom interpreted that,” says Allen.

Allen says he had already decided to support Heiner, but decided to take his endorsement to the campaign and the public because he “thought [Heiner] would challenge the status quo.” Allen met with both Heiner and Democratic candidate Greg Fischer before publicly endorsing Heiner, but he says he was not promised any input on transportation issues, or any other topic.

The Kentucky Democratic Party has asked the Attorney General’s office to investigate the issue.

The accusation that Allen’s endorsement was traded for influence comes after the Heiner campaign accused Democratic candidate Greg Fischer of offering power to independent Jackie Green in exchange for support. Green dropped out of the race last week and endorsed Fischer. E-mails reveal that Green thought he and his team may have a role inside of Metro Government, but it’s not clear what that role would be. The Fischer campaign says nothing was promised to Green–he was simply told that if Fischer won the election, Green would be asked to advise the mayor on the creation of an office of sustainability in Metro Government.

The Republican Party of Kentucky asked the Attorney General’s office to investigate the issue earlier this week.

Allen says he doesn’t have any e-mails that discuss his endorsement. Joe Burgan with the Heiner campaign released the following messages:

From: Joe Burgan [mailtoxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 11:03 AM
To: [tyler allen]
Subject: Press Release

Here’s where we are.

______________________________________
Democratic Mayoral Candidate Tyler Allen Endorses Hal Heiner for Mayor

LOUISVILLE, KY – Citing Hal’s ability to lead Louisville from day one and provide a fresh start for Metro government, former Democratic mayoral candidate Tyler Allen today endorsed Hal Heiner for Mayor.

<>

Hal enthusiastically welcomed Tyler into the campaign.

“Tyler represents the next generation of leadership in Louisville and I’m honored to have his endorsement,” stated Mr. Heiner. “His energy and commitment to Louisville was unmatched in the Democratic primary and I look forward to working closely with him as we move forward in the final weeks of this campaign.”

Mr. Allen is the second Democratic mayoral candidate to endorse the Heiner for Mayor Campaign, joining former Democratic mayoral candidate Shannon White.
And…

From: Joe Burgan [mailto:xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 9:52 AM
To: [Tyler Allen]
Cc: ‘Riggs Lewis’
Subject: Statement with a few tweaks

What do you think?

“This election is about the serious business of building Louisville’s future and I believe Hal Heiner is the only candidate with the passion and experience to lead this city from day one,” stated Mr. Allen. “While we may not agree on everything, I firmly believe Hal is a leader we can trust to move this city forward and fulfill the promises of merger. His openness to innovative ideas and willingness to bring new people into the process will make Louisville an even better place to live in the years to come.”

So to review…

The Heiner campaign (and the Republican Party of Kentucky, which has asked the Attorney General’s office to investigate the Fischer/Green endorsement) says Jackie Green was promised power over a (currently nonexistent) Metro Government office if he would drop out of the race and endorse Fischer. Green told LEO he was on the short list to run the department, but later said the e-mail which reveals that he was anticipating a role inside Metro Government could be incorrect, since he may not accurately remember what he discussed with the Fischer campaign.  The Fischer campaign says Green will be like many other advisers Fischer has throughout the community, and calls Heiner’s accusations of wrongdoing “sour grapes.”

The Fischer campaign and Metro Council President Tom Owen say Tyler Allen was promised similar influence over transportation issues. The Heiner campaign denies this. Currently, the only documents available show Heiner campaign manager Joe Burgan (Burgan worked for Allen at 8664, which Allen co-founded) sending drafts of a press release to Allen. Allen says he was planning to endorse Heiner since shortly after losing the May primary.

It is against state law to offer “things of value” in exchange for votes.

This issue came up Thursday in a mayoral debate at the Louisville Rotary Club.

Here is full audio of the debate.

Here is Greg Fischer afterward.

Here is Hal Heiner afterward.

Here is Tyler Allen afterward.

What are your thoughts on this whole ordeal? Does it sound like it isn’t anything new? Does it matter that Green made his endorsement while he was still an active candidate, while Allen did not?

Or is all of this, as Green’s former campaign manager Tyler Hess says, distracting from the more important issues in the race, such as the ones that Green and Allen championed in their campaigns?

Thanks to Sheila Ash for the audio.

Owen Says Heiner Promised Allen Input For Endorsement

The latest turn in the mayoral endorsement controversy comes from Metro Council President Tom Owen.

Own has told Democratic candidate Greg Fischer‘s campaign that Republican Hal Heiner promised former Democratic candidate Tyler Allen input on transportation issues in exchange for Allen’s endorsement.

From the Fischer campaign:

Owen said he met with Allen in September just before Allen announced he was endorsing Heiner. The two met for an hour at the McDonald’s at Warnock Avenue and Floyd St. at U of L.

Owen called Allen and arranged the meeting because he heard that Allen was about to announce he was backing Heiner.

“Tyler clearly stated to me that he was promised by the Heiner campaign to have input into transportation issues, if he endorsed Heiner and if Heiner won,” Owen said. “Mr. Heiner, whom I respect, is being a hypocrite. I call on Hal to come clean with the public and with the voters.”

Owen is referring to the controversy over how independent Jackie Green decided to endorse Fischer.

Heiner campaign manager Joe Burgan says the accusations are “100 percent false,” and he will say more after today’s Rotary Club debate. He tells LEO he will release all e-mails between the Heiner campaign and Allen later today. Allen was unavailable for comment.

 

Listen To The Yarmuth/Lally Forum

WFPL’s Rick Howlett covered the debate between Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth and Republican challenger Todd Lally at the Louisville Forum’s Wednesday meeting. Read the story and listen to the full audio here.

What Yarmuth Has Learned

Third District Congressman John Yarmuth recently took part in Esquire Magazine’s “What I’ve Learned” series, along with many other lawmakers.

On the Congressional dining room, Yarmuth says:

The food is pretty decent, a little overpriced. It’s $12.95 for a soup and salad bar and $16.95 for the whole deal — soup, salad, hot line, and desserts. There are about twenty-five Republicans I’ve met in the members’ dining room that I now feel very comfortable with and never would’ve gotten to know like that any other way.

We’ll post updates if any other local Representatives’ interviews are posted.

GOP Calls For Fischer Investigation

Republican Party of Kentucky chair Steve Robertson has sent a letter to Attorney General Jack Conway’s office calling for an investigation into the Greg Fischer/Jackie Green endorsement.

Excerpts:

As I am sure you are aware, some very disturbing allegations have surfaced in the Louisville Mayoral race involving Democrat candidate Greg Fischer and a quid-pro-quo deal he cut with Independent candidate Jackie Green. According to today’s article in the Leo Weekly, it appears that Fischer’s campaign may have agreed to appoint Green to a high-paying government job if Green would drop out of the race and endorse Fischer’s candidacy. The Leo even included alarming email excerpts between the campaigns evidencing such an agreement. Shortly after this alleged deal was cut, Green did, in fact, drop out of the race and endorse Fischer.

The allegations against Greg Fischer are serious and potentially criminal in nature. As Attorney General, you have an obligation to investigate and prosecute election fraud and public corruption. However, according to the Registry of Election Finance, you have contributed $1000 to Greg Fischer’s campaign. Your financial relationship with Mr. Fischer’s campaign renders you incapable of providing objective leadership on any investigation of these allegations. Therefore, I call on you to recuse yourself from this matter entirely and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate this potentially criminal activity.

Green’s campaign manager Tyler Hess has made a few statements to the media.

Jackie was doing this to move issues forward. Greg wanted political capital because he saw Jackie as a threat and our momentum. Jackie had a baby on the way and was going to constant events on his bike and TARC – amazing man…Greg wanted Jackie out of the way and Jackie was an Office of Sustainability. Plain and simple. No two party bashing needed.

And in regard to the controversy over the endorsement, Hess says:

It’s not as much of a “story” as everyone is making it. This must be clarified.

The public is being damaged by this fire storm and are confused (and disgusted).”"We must re-focus on the issues.”

The issues must continue to be known, analyzed and changed. Floyds Fork, public transit, etc

LEO Weekly is taking the Courier-Journal to task on how this issue was covered. LEO (and WHAS-TV) published more information than the C-J, and the two papers had differing accounts of how the endorsement was made. LEO published an e-mail wherein Green says there may be room for him and his team in a Fischer administration, exposing a quid pro quo situation.

From LEO:

Questions abound as to why the C-J didn’t include/know about the other emails. At best, it’s perhaps a consequence of “access journalism,” whereby reporters take the information espoused by high-level, hard-to-get-to sources as gospel simply for the sake of possessing that information; and at worst it smacks of the C-J’s editorial board seeking to protect its investment of a likely endorsement of Greg Fischer. When a politician like Green suffers from a sudden bout of Nixonian amnesia — going so far as to tell WHAS11′s Joe Arnold that he can’t even remember his wife’s fucking birthday —  questions of impropriety take center stage in the rational voter’s mind.

UPDATE:

Here is a statement from Chris Poynter with the Fischer campaign:

Nothing was promised to Jackie Green — and Hal Heiner and the Republican Party know that. This is a ploy to divert the public’s attention because Heiner is down in the polls and losing the race.

Aqua Buddha Hubbub Continues, Paul Says He Doesn’t Remember The Prank

Another day, another round of links to national coverage of the Jack Conway/Rand Paul Senate race.

NPR’s Brian Naylor was on Morning Edition Wednesday summing up the latest developments.

And on Jimmy Kimmel Live, as the host joked about the debate and Aqua Buddha in his monologue.

Paul says he can’t recall the “Aqua Buddha” prank he was allegedly involved in.

From Politico:

“I wish I had a great story about it, I don’t remember anything about the story,” Paul told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham Wednesday morning. “We were kind of nerds,” saying he and other college-era friends couldn’t remember the anonymous woman who has been quoted in the press saying Paul and a friend tied her up and blindfolded and made her worship a god called “Aqua Buddha.”

It’s unclear whether the “we” in that sentence refers to the NoZe Brotherhood Paul was reportedly a member of.

 

Green E-Mails Surface

Recently-released e-mails shed light on negotiations between independent mayoral candidate Jackie Green and Democratic candidate Greg Fischer‘s staff.

Green dropped out of the mayor’s race last week to endorse Fischer. Republican candidate Hal Heiner has criticized the endorsement as the result of a “backroom deal” that would give Green power in Metro Government. The Fischer campaign says it did nothing wrong.

The endorsement talks centered on Fischer’s proposed cabinet-level office of sustainability. Green told WFPL last week he would endorse Fischer if the office would have significant power in Metro Government, and if Green and his campaign staff could have a role in deciding that office’s leader.

E-mails released Tuesday (more) show the Fischer campaign was willing to adopt some of Green’s positions, and that Green believed he and his team could have a role in a Fischer administration. Green told LEO Weekly that his name was on the short list to lead the office of sustainability.

The Fischer campaign says Green was not offered a job, though the independent will have input on creating the office of sustainability, if Fischer wins the election.

Here is an excerpt of an e-mail Green sent to his staff:

The Gt also raised the issue of our team playing a role inside gov. – should Greg get lucky ; ) .

Green told WHAS he may have mis-remembered what happened.

State law prohibits candidates from exchanging a “thing of value” for votes. Republican Hal Heiner’s campaign contends that Fischer did just that, and has criticized Fischer for being secretive about negotiations with Green. The Fischer campaign says an offer for an advisory role does not violate the law. No formal complaints have been filed.

Mixed Results In Two New Senate Polls

Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul continues his lead over Democrat Jack Conway in the U.S. Senate race, according to Rasmussen. The right-leaning pollster gives Paul his smallest lead yet, with 5 points over Conway.

But, a poll commissioned by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee gives Conway a two-point lead over Paul.

Both polls may be exaggerated slightly, but they indicate that the race is tightening.

Also, Conway discussed his latest ad against Rand Paul on All Things Considered Tuesday. Listen to it here.

New Heiner Ad Hits Fischer On Green Endorsement

Republican mayoral candidate Hal Heiner‘s latest ad is the most critical yet of the general election. In it, Heiner accuses Democratic candidate Greg Fischer of making a backroom deal for independent Jackie Green‘s endorsement.

Green previously told multiple media outlets (WFPL included) that he would drop out of the race and endorse Fischer if Fischer promised to, if elected:

1. Give “real power” to his proposed Office of Sustainability
2. Let the Jackie Green for Mayor team have input on choosing that office’s leadership

Heiner has called on the two to release any e-mails they traded regarding the endorsement. Both sides have refused.

Previously, Chris Poynter with Heiner’s campaign called the Republican’s reaction “sour grapes,” and said there was no deal made, though Green will have an advisory role in creating the Office of Sustainability, if Fischer is elected.