Toowoomba Regional Council 2008 election - Jones and the rumour mill ...
Toowoomba Mayoral candidate Ian Jones has taken a leaf right out of the outgoing Mayor's election playbook.
And with her campaign manager running his campaign, it's hardly a surprise.
If you're floundering (and many would be forgiven for thinking that he is no longer even running given the absence of policies and appearances), create a wiff of 'poor fellow me, there's a smear campaign against me' and try for the sympathy vote.
See - Jones - they're out to get me.
Seems unlikely to work, even for the spry Jones.
Many out Clifton way would find it highly amusing that Jones would claim a smear campaign against him and hint that it is *bleep* behind it.
Word on the street is that the last thing *bleep* wants to do is mention the word '*bleep*' and '*bleep*' in the same sentence.
Those who live in *bleep* *bleep* ...
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 6:47 AM
2 Comments:
The Chronicle:
Mayoral race turns nasty
27 February 2008
TOOWOOMBA'S mayoral contest turned nasty yesterday with Snow Manners accusing Peter Taylor of being a "lawmaker turned lawbreaker".
Cr Taylor has reprinted 50,000 of his flyers and withdrawn controversial material off his website.
A complaint was lodged with Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) Local Transitional Committee chief executive officer Philip Spencer that his chairman (Taylor) was in breach of copyright laws by using the incoming council's logo in his election advertising.
Meanwhile, the third candidate, Cr Ian Jones, is vehemently refuting rumours that the Australian Labor Party has backed his campaign to the tune of $50,000.
He's calling on his mayoral rivals to disclose their donations and support.
But back in ring one, Cr Manners had Cr Taylor on the ropes.
Cr Taylor claims he used the TRC map, with logo, as an information map of the new amalgamated region.
"There was certainly no intention of gaining a political advantage, but to provide information.
"I have corrected the whole thing," he said.
Cr Manners said: "He is the lawmaker and the lawbreaker all in the space of a week which shows he is not reading what he is writing.
"His Toowoomba Regional Council Transition Committee has specifically said: 'Please note that the copyright for the TRC branding is held by the TRC and cannot be used by aspiring candidates on any of their electioneering documentation'.
"The Darling Downs region cannot afford to take the risk with a mayor who doesn't read what he is rubber-stamping," Cr Manners said.
"It is an even worse indictment if Peter Taylor has read it and decided he is a law unto himself," he said.
Cr Taylor said he doesn't believe it's "illegal as such".
"It was drawn to my attention and I corrected it."
In ring two, Cr Jones said he'd fielded several calls querying his alliance with the ALP.
He's labelled the rumours as "mischievous and scurrilous".
Cr Jones said he'd never been a member of, or affiliated with, any political party, union, interest group or individual, nor had he accepted any money to assist his campaign.
Cr Jones is challenging all mayoral candidates to "come clean" and publicly declare the sources of funding for their campaigns before the election.
His opponents say they are too busy campaigning to talk about Cr Jones.
Cr Manners, without hesitation, said he would post his campaign details on his website last night.
"I will be putting all my donations - which are zero - and all my campaigning expenses on the internet," he said.
"The only money I have to spend is the $24,000 I've saved from my council pay for the past 18 months and I expect I have to write (spend) another $10,000 bucks," he said.
Cr Taylor just as quickly rejected any affiliations with any political party.
"I'm running a positive Peter Taylor campaign about what I can deliver for the region."
As far as his campaign funds go, he said he would comply with the required auditing under the Local Government Act.
"I'm not owned by any vested interests anywhere - nobody owns Peter Taylor. I've always been independent in local government and that is the way I intend to stay."
Cr Taylor said he wouldn't get into a contest over who had the bigger campaign budget.
11:42 AM, February 27, 2008
Today's Chronicle says - Cr Jones is challenging all mayoral candidates to 'come clean' and publicly declare the sources of funding fortheir campaigns for the election.
Manners has done this. Where is Jones disclosure?
2:37 PM, February 27, 2008
Post a Comment
<< Home