Campaign photo of Linda Lukas
Dan Rottenstreich, from facebook
Despite U-T reporter David Garrick’s claims that Tuesday’s primary in District 2 became “an old-fashioned Democrat-versus-Republican battle,” — it didn’t — we now have an admittance by the Jen Campbell campaign that a mailer they paid for that attacked Democrat Lori Saldaña while promoting Republican Linda Lukacs worked.
“The mailer promoting Lukacs was pivotal,” said Dan Rottenstreich, Campbell’s campaign consultant and main attack-dog.
“On her own, Lukacs wouldn’t have been able to consolidate Republicans.”
Garrick reported:
“… challengers divided up the anti-Campbell vote among Democrats and left most of the anti-Campbell vote among Republicans to Lukacs, who was able to solidify Republican support despite raising relatively little money. She benefited tremendously from a mailer paid for by Campbell supporters that simultaneously attacked Saldaña and promoted Lukacs, said Dan Rottenstreich, Campbell’s campaign consultant.”
Lukas also conceded that she received help from Campbell. Garrick reported that “Lukacs, a dentist, acknowledged Wednesday that the mailer could have had a big impact. She stressed that she played no role in planning the mailer, which was funded by an independent fundraising committee supporting Campbell.”
Of course Lukacs wasn’t going to admit that the mailer was everything. She said, as Garrick reported, “there were other factors in her success, particularly her personally visiting more than 4,000 homes in the district. She said residents tell her they want change because the area is in decline, with rising homelessness, shrinking police presence and decaying infrastructure.”
In District 2, roughly 24,000 registered Republicans call it home as do about 41,000 registered Democrats and about 24,000 voters who declined to state a party preference.
And this is why Tuesday’s primary was definitely not an “old-fashioned Democrat-versus-Republican battle.” On Tuesday — and for months — you had a Democratic mayor and a Democratic councilmember funding mailers that viciously attacked a fellow Democrat while outwardly supporting the lone Republican in the race, Linda Lukacs, a virtual unknown in District 2.
Because of Democratic help, Republican Lukacs, as of this writing, sits at the number 2 spot on the November ballot (things could still change) facing Campbell.
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Rather than ensure all Dems in the general election, the Party Machine promoted a Republican. They also actively sabotaged the only Dem in the sheriff’s race. And they didn’t even bother to field a Dem challenger to the Republican district attorney. Yet they expect — indeed demand — that we the unwashed “Vote Blue No Matter Who”? That’s why we had a record low voter turnout: our ‘leaders’ expect us to care more than they do.
Bluer words haven’t been spoken.
Obviously, the Gloria/Campbell crowd wanted ultimately a safe election for Campbell and by knocking out the only Dem who had a chance by pumping the only GOP’er, they may have it. Unless there’s a ‘revolt at the coast’ by blue voters disgusted with Campbell and her tactics.
Slimeball tactics from the Incumbent who referred to community members as “you people” and only managed to get a third of the vote. This your Democratic choice in November??!!
Appalling.
My dislike of Campbell is enough for me to vote Republican in this contest. In the end, it won’t matter much, Gloria will get his sixth vote whether it is Campbell or Lukacs. The only opportunity to challenge that on the council is gone for now.