Mystery" candidates not worthy of votes
Another campaign season is upon us and it is always interesting to see which candidates take advantage of the opportunities afforded to them. It’s even more interesting to see the ones who don’t. Unfortunately, candidates in the latter group are hurting more than just themselves by not availing themselves to free publicity. They are hurting - or more appropriately, disenfranchising - the very public they want to support them, by depriving them of information to which they are entitled.
Advertising dollars are at a premium these days – political advertising, in particular. So smart candidates would do well to honor requests to appear at debates and on talk shows where they can get their name out there and their message told. Most candidates are savvy enough to do so, especially when races are tight or hotly contested. But there are some candidates who are full of excuses. “You support the other candidate;” “My campaign people said I should decline;” “I’ll only come on if there’s a primary;” “I’m sorry, but my schedule is too busy. Perhaps another time.” You name it and for every candidate who has ever declined an invitation there is an excuse to match. Problem is, about the only excuse worth anything is the scheduling conflict excuse. During a campaign season most candidates are very busy and many people are clamoring for their attention. And while most media will be as accommodating as possible, once in a while there just is no way to make everything work. The other excuses though, are shamefully ridiculous and usually indicative of a candidate who probably feels they cannot hold their own, should the questions become tough. These excuses also show fear and skewed thinking on the part of the candidate, his/her campaign committee or both.
Anyone who is a regular viewer of Eye on Oshkosh knows that Melanie Bloechl and I have strong opinions on many issues and even some political candidates. And we are not terribly shy about expressing them. However, regular viewers also know that no matter what our personal views are, we treat all guests with respect and gratitude. Ask some of the city council members or school board members who have appeared on the show in the past, yet with whom we have vehemently disagreed on many political issues. We ask tough questions of everyone, friend or foe, but we have never treated a guest with anything less than respect.
That is why I applaud Gregg Underheim for agreeing to come on the show. He and Melanie have been political adversaries for years and it will surely be a spirited discussion when we host him on Aug. 12, but we will be courteous and respectful, while at the same time ask him questions that need to be not just asked, but also answered.
On the other hand, there are some candidates running for less contentious positions – like Winnebago County Register of Deeds – who have elected not to appear simply because we circulated nomination papers for Julie Pagel. These relative newcomers – Cathy Ann Steinert and Heidi Turner – don’t want to appear on the show for that reason and that reason only, they say. Our feelings are not hurt by their actions and we have no regrets about helping out Mrs. Pagel. The other challenger in this Register of Deeds race – Louise Schoenike – was not deterred from appearing because of our circulating papers for Mrs. Pagel so she could get her name on the ballot. Quite the contrary. Schoenike appreciated our candor in explaining our position; said she recognized the need to get publicity and her name out to the public; was grateful for the opportunity; and happily accepted our invitation.
Steinert and Turner are hurting themselves by turning down 30 minutes of free publicity. But more importantly, they are hurting the electorate because they are unwilling to share with the people what their thoughts and positions are, they’re unwilling to share with the voters what they intend to do in the Register of Deeds office if elected, and they’re unwilling to tell any of us why we should vote for them. It’s almost as if they think people should vote for them because they’re swell gals. Unfortunately, some votes may be garnered that way, but most voters are too smart to fall for that tac. They will base their votes more on merit rather than where someone’s name falls on the ballot or how popular a person may be.
Remember the game Mystery Date from when you were a kid growing up in the 60’s? There was a different surprise date behind each door. And then there was one that was a dud. Such a game of chance may have been fun back then, but political office is far too important to be taking chances on Mystery CandiDATEs. If these women – or any other political candidates, for that matter – want to withhold their ideas and opinions from the voters, perhaps the voters should withhold their votes from the candidates on primary Election Day, Sept. 14.
Cheryl Hentz
Co-host/co-producer, Eye on Oshkosh
Advertising dollars are at a premium these days – political advertising, in particular. So smart candidates would do well to honor requests to appear at debates and on talk shows where they can get their name out there and their message told. Most candidates are savvy enough to do so, especially when races are tight or hotly contested. But there are some candidates who are full of excuses. “You support the other candidate;” “My campaign people said I should decline;” “I’ll only come on if there’s a primary;” “I’m sorry, but my schedule is too busy. Perhaps another time.” You name it and for every candidate who has ever declined an invitation there is an excuse to match. Problem is, about the only excuse worth anything is the scheduling conflict excuse. During a campaign season most candidates are very busy and many people are clamoring for their attention. And while most media will be as accommodating as possible, once in a while there just is no way to make everything work. The other excuses though, are shamefully ridiculous and usually indicative of a candidate who probably feels they cannot hold their own, should the questions become tough. These excuses also show fear and skewed thinking on the part of the candidate, his/her campaign committee or both.
Anyone who is a regular viewer of Eye on Oshkosh knows that Melanie Bloechl and I have strong opinions on many issues and even some political candidates. And we are not terribly shy about expressing them. However, regular viewers also know that no matter what our personal views are, we treat all guests with respect and gratitude. Ask some of the city council members or school board members who have appeared on the show in the past, yet with whom we have vehemently disagreed on many political issues. We ask tough questions of everyone, friend or foe, but we have never treated a guest with anything less than respect.
That is why I applaud Gregg Underheim for agreeing to come on the show. He and Melanie have been political adversaries for years and it will surely be a spirited discussion when we host him on Aug. 12, but we will be courteous and respectful, while at the same time ask him questions that need to be not just asked, but also answered.
On the other hand, there are some candidates running for less contentious positions – like Winnebago County Register of Deeds – who have elected not to appear simply because we circulated nomination papers for Julie Pagel. These relative newcomers – Cathy Ann Steinert and Heidi Turner – don’t want to appear on the show for that reason and that reason only, they say. Our feelings are not hurt by their actions and we have no regrets about helping out Mrs. Pagel. The other challenger in this Register of Deeds race – Louise Schoenike – was not deterred from appearing because of our circulating papers for Mrs. Pagel so she could get her name on the ballot. Quite the contrary. Schoenike appreciated our candor in explaining our position; said she recognized the need to get publicity and her name out to the public; was grateful for the opportunity; and happily accepted our invitation.
Steinert and Turner are hurting themselves by turning down 30 minutes of free publicity. But more importantly, they are hurting the electorate because they are unwilling to share with the people what their thoughts and positions are, they’re unwilling to share with the voters what they intend to do in the Register of Deeds office if elected, and they’re unwilling to tell any of us why we should vote for them. It’s almost as if they think people should vote for them because they’re swell gals. Unfortunately, some votes may be garnered that way, but most voters are too smart to fall for that tac. They will base their votes more on merit rather than where someone’s name falls on the ballot or how popular a person may be.
Remember the game Mystery Date from when you were a kid growing up in the 60’s? There was a different surprise date behind each door. And then there was one that was a dud. Such a game of chance may have been fun back then, but political office is far too important to be taking chances on Mystery CandiDATEs. If these women – or any other political candidates, for that matter – want to withhold their ideas and opinions from the voters, perhaps the voters should withhold their votes from the candidates on primary Election Day, Sept. 14.
Cheryl Hentz
Co-host/co-producer, Eye on Oshkosh
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 10:53 PM
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