I'm going to see these two debate tomorrow at the town library. STEEL CAGE MATCH! BE THERE! lol
Joy Padgett wants TV ad condemned
By KYLE KONDIK, T-R Staff Writer
Republican congressional candidate Joy Padgett is calling a new television advertisement by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee “slanderous†and wants her Democratic opponent, Zack Space, to condemn it.
In addition, Padgett’s campaign is asking television stations to stop running the ad, according to a letter written by Maria J. Armstrong, a lawyer representing the Padgett campaign.
The advertisement begins with a narrator asking, “With all the scandals these days, is Joy Padgett the right person to send to Congress?†It then details two events from Padgett’s past.
The first is a 2002 investigation of an anonymous charge that Padgett abused her position while serving as director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia.
The ad is a lie, Padgett said, because it points out the investigation but omits the fact that she was cleared of any wrongdoing.
The ad also links Padgett to an overall culture of corruption in Columbus because she defaulted on a $700,000 loan.
Space Congress Pledge
“By linking Padgett’s government loan to the ‘Ohio corruption scandal’ or any other illegal activity, the DCCC falsely suggests that Padgett engaged in illegal activities,†Armstrong wrote.
The ad is “absolutely misleading to the voters,†said Padgett, a state senator from Coshocton.
Space did not denounce the ad and said the particulars of the ad were true.
“I’m not going to condemn the truth,†he said.
Space, Dover’s law director, called on Padgett to denounce an advertisement produced by the DCCC’s Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee.
That ad, which has been airing locally for the past few weeks, connects Space with the group Council for a Livable World, which has raised more than $5,000 for Space. The NRCC refers to that group as “radical†and says it advocates cuts in defense spending and opposes the war in Iraq and missile defense. The ad also features photos of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, which Space said unfairly links him to anti-American leaders.
Padgett defended that ad by asking, “Did he take the money or not?â€
The DCCC stands by its ad, said Adrienne Elrod, a DCCC spokeswoman.
According to federal rules, candidates are not allowed to have any input on the ads that national groups such as the DCCC and NRCC produce, and both candidates said they were not involved.
The race between Padgett and Space will determine who succeeds Republican Bob Ney in the 18th Congressional District.
http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=59557&r=1
