Dirty Tricks, happily, have not been a staple of MoCo elections. But there are exceptions. Reardon Sullivan’s recent duplicity is something MoCo voters should reject.
See this report in today's Bethesda Beat (Note, also, that Mr. Sullivan is plainly the candidate of the developers like Charles Nulsen III. See https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/07/montgomery-county-executive-primary.html; Mr. Sullivan also has aligned himself with the right-wing Family Research Council. See https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/08/republican-nominee-for-county-executive.html)
Odd couple: Sullivan ad pictures him with Renne – but without union leader’s consent
Reardon Sullivan, the Republican nominee pursuing a longshot bid for county executive against Democratic incumbent Marc Elrich in this year’s general election, last month asked for a meeting with Gino Renne – president of the union local that represents a majority of the Montgomery County government workforce.
Renne has long been a key backer of Elrich, and heads an organization, UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, that – like much of organized labor – has been firmly allied with the Democratic Party. However, in deference to a number of MCGEO members who are Republicans, Renne met with Sullivan. At the end of the session, Sullivan asked if he could take a selfie and Renne consented.
It did come as a surprise to Renne – and several other political insiders – when the selfie showed in a subsequent online ad by the Sullivan campaign, in what might have been mistaken by some as an endorsement.
Renne said Sullivan never asked for the union’s permission to use Renne’s image in the online ad — which he said “We would have denied,” while pointedly noting, “we strongly support Elrich.”
The Sullivan ad, which appeared online as recently as late last week, was headlined “Reardon Sullivan for County Executive” and was accompanied by the photo of Renne and MCGEO official Lisa Brown. It said Sullivan had met with them “regarding the challenges of the ever changing workforce demographics and the work/life balance of the Montgomery County workforce.”
The ad concluded: “Let’s get away from identity politics and work together so everybody has a seat at the table.”
Sullivan could not immediately be reached for comment. Renne said he had not contacted Sullivan to ask that the ad be taken down, while noting it no longer appears to be running.
Sullivan appears to be relying in significant measure on online ads in a low-budget campaign: On Tuesday, he sent out a blast email with the plea, “I need your help to get the message out on radio and social media to the voters that have not yet heard my message.” He went on to assert: “The local bloggers and pundits are saying that I cannot be elected as County Executive … well they are WRONG!”
Elrich – who, unlike Sullivan, is tapping into the county’s public campaign finance system – doesn’t appear to be worried: He reported raising only $3,300 in private contributions over the past couple of months, for which he is seeking another $8,700 in public matching funds on top of nearly $81,600 in public subsidies for which he already has qualified during the general election.
Sullivan reported raising a little over $46,200 in the two months leading up to Oct. 23. He had nearly $41,400 in cash on hand with a little more than two weeks to go until Election Day – as compared to about $72,800 for Elrich.
While Sullivan’s blast email Tuesday declared, “I have not sought donations or support from special interest groups. I do NOT want to be beholden to anyone except the good people of Montgomery County,” among his three largest donors during the recent reporting period was Charles Nulsen, president of Washington Property Co., a Bethesda-based commercial real estate firm. During this year’s primary campaign, Nulsen chaired Progressives for Progress, a largely developer-funded political action committee (PAC).
Nulsen donated $5,000 to Sullivan in September, while Nicholas Paleologos – vice chair of Bethesda-based construction firm Miller and Long – contributed $6,000 to the Sullivan campaign during the same month.
During the primary, Nulsen donated $50,000 to Progressives for Progress, while contributing another $250,000 to the Affordable Maryland PAC, a committee created to oppose Elrich’s renomination as county executive. Paleologos gave $100,000 to the Affordable Maryland PAC.
— Louis Peck
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/11/02/political-notes-record-price-tag-of-blairs-2022-bid-for-county-executive-continues-to-grow/?utm_source=Bethesda+Magazine+%7C+Bethesda+Beat&utm_campaign=76992f3f12-RSS_BETHESDA+BEAT_WEEKDAY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1bbe9df5d9-76992f3f12-105238086&mc_cid=76992f3f12&mc_eid=127235b306
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