Bellone Campaign Responds to Smear Effort

BABYLON – Babylon Town Supervisor and Democratic Suffolk County Executive Candidate Steve Bellone’s campaign today responded to the negative attack levied by Republican candidate Angie Carpenter and the Suffolk County Republican Committee. A letter, mailed today from Bellone’s campaign manager Rick Fromberg to Carpenter’s campaign manager Rick Belyea, calls on Carpenter to take down the false and misleading attack website. The letter is below:

July 13, 2011

Rick Belyea, Campaign Manager

Carpenter for the County

83 East Main Street

Bay Shore, NY 11706

Dear Rick,

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with the decision made by your candidate, Angie Carpenter, and the Suffolk County Republican Committee to begin negative campaigning in the race for County Executive. Just weeks after complimenting Steve Bellone’s record in Babylon, Angie Carpenter’s sanctioned smear campaign has kicked into high gear.

The Republican Party has thrown together a website meant to disparage Steve’s record of public service and mislead the voters in this county. The website has it all: false charges, scare tactics, awkward photographs, and a web video with run of the mill quirky editing and circus music. There’s also a robo-call and a press release to go with it.

When Ms. Carpenter announced her candidacy, Newsday opined that “knowing both candidates, we’re confident they can discuss [the issues] civilly and intelligently.” I doubt this is what Newsday’s Editorial Board was looking for.

We have met this challenge by running an exclusively positive campaign. For this reason, we have not made issue of Ms. Carpenter’s suspect record on taxes, such as her support of and vote for a massive property tax increase, or her stated interest in a county income tax.

As prominent Republican consultant Michael Dawidziak wrote in Newsday last week, “this is too crucial a time in Suffolk's history to waste time with meaningless, mean-spirited rhetoric.” Steve Bellone agrees, and it is only appropriate that Ms. Carpenter and her friends at the Suffolk County Republican Committee take down the site.

Sincerely,

Rick Fromberg

cc: John Jay Lavalle

Members of the Press

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