Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 2:28 PM
News, Opinion, Politics
By Stephanie Ramage
MAYOR'S RACE: REED ASKS NORWOOD TO REMOVE AD
The mayor's race just heated up. Frontrunner Councilwoman Mary Norwood has released an ad showing her at the sites of two high profile murders. But it was Norwood who voted against the tax needed to end police furloughs, says her opponent, former state Sen. Kasim Reed, who has asked her to take down the ad.
Below is the statement Reed released today, but first, here's a link to a YouTube clip about Norwood's vote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffKUPBdbB6E
Reed's statement:
"Today I am calling on Mary Norwood to take down her new campaign commercial where she exploits two recent high-profile murders. Like most Atlantans who have seen the ad, I was deeply offended that Ms. Norwood would stand on the hallowed sites of their murders - when she twice cast votes which led to the police and fire furloughs which resulted in a significant spike in crime and violence in our city.
Ms. Norwood was warned repeatedly by the Mayor that her failure to support a modest tax increase would cause police to be immediately furloughed. Yet, she offered no alternative to the tax increase and voted to make Atlanta vulnerable to gangs and violent criminals, choosing political convenience over the safety of our city.
At a televised debate this past weekend, when asked to account for the manipulation of viewers’ emotions in order to deceive them about her direct role in furloughing police, Ms. Norwood’s response was as slippery and dishonest as her commercial. From her unwillingness to vote for our safety and attempts to misrepresent it later, Atlantans can only gather that Mary Norwood feels that saving money is more important that saving lives."
UPDATE: Norwood responds through her campaign manager, Roman Levit:
“Mr. Reed's patently political attacks are simply without merit and exactly what you would expect in the final days of a campaign. No one has spent more time working in Atlanta's neighborhoods than Mary Norwood. She knows that Atlantans are fed up with crime and she -- like every other resident of our City -- has the deepest sympathy for the victims of crime and their families. In a half billion dollar annual budget, a tough minded Mayor who is committed to efficiency and accountability can fund public safety at the levels needed to protect Atlanta's citizens. As Mayor, Mary Norwood will never furlough police."
"Joe"'s comment was removed because it was libelous.
Stephanie Ramage
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 3:04 PM
In the interest of fairness, here's Mary Norwood's real ad: http://www.marynorwoodformayor.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=110
That parody ad is vicious and I'm stunned you'd link to it.
The candidates need to get back to discussing what and how they will help Atlanta communities. This attack campaigning is desperate and insulting.
Do they not think the voters can discern who's a good guy and who isn't unless they show the poor ignorant, gullible Atlanta voter "the way" by attacking their opponents?
At a recent forum, a candidate had to be reminded that the audience was there to hear about his plan for ATL, not how his opponents have failed. The audience erupted in applause.
After Obama, who proved that you can campaign with integrity and win, people aren't interested in this kind of political game-playing anymore.
Anna
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 3:18 PM
That is not a parody ad Joe/Anna. That is a YouTube clip about Mary's vote against the tax to end police furloughs, which is exactly what I called it.
I was there, in the City Council chamber, when Norwood voted against the tax to end the furloughs. I had received thousands of emails from citizens and cops over months detailing
the impact of the furloughs. Yet, when I asked Norwood how she intended to end the furloughs without a tax increase, she had no answers whatsoever. Fact. Not spin.
I like Mary, but she has never explained how she planned to end the furloughs.
This isn't "political game playing"--this is the real discourse that real politics are made of. This is the stuff our very democracy hinges on, not playing nice, but playing honestly. People need to know that Mary Norwood, for all of her good qualities, effectively voted against ending police furloughs and yet she is now claiming to be a crimefighter.
That matters. People need to know.
Stephanie Ramage
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 3:41 PM
Stephanie Ramage and the magically disappearing comments...lol...
Edwina
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 3:47 PM
If libel is an issue then you should make your career disappear.
And isn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle exploitative when Reed held a press conference at the very spot that Vernon Forrest was killed.
Maybe it's not OK for her to do it because she's White, right?
Nina
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 4:01 PM
Sorry, but the Joe/Anna salutation went over my head. I've posted here before and it showed up as "Anna." Is there a glitch with my name?
In any case, I've heard Mary say many times that she wasn't comfortable raising taxes until she knew what the city was doing with the money it was already getting. The people agreed with her on the first vote. We didn't want higher taxes. Then Shirley played hardball and furloughed first-responders. (Many say unnecessarily.) And I think Mary stuck to her guns the second time around for the same reason: she wasn't convinced that the tax increase was necessary.
Semantics aside, the video that you link to and my candidate's call for her to remove it is not "...the real discourse that real politics are made of. This is the stuff our very democracy hinges on, not playing nice, but playing honestly." The video you chose lowers the discussion to the most base level by mixing a POV with ridicule.
This time last year, we watched Obama consistently elevate political discussion despite the actions of his opponents. I'm disappointed that my candidate isn't doing the same in the ATL Mayor's race. God knows he has plenty of terrific ideas and plans to talk about without turning his attention to this kind of thing.
Anna
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Dear Readers,
Anna comments frequently, always blasting Kasim Reed while simultaneously claiming to be a Reed supporter, clearly she is not.
I openly and honestly endorsed Reed. It's a shame Borders and Norwood operatives have to use tactics like Anna's. Notice, too, that I am the only commenter with a last name.
Does Nina, Anna, Edwina, and/or Joe have a reason for hiding who she is?
Stephanie Ramage
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 4:12 PM
This add is classic! Cut straight from the pages of Karl Roves' playbook. Norwood's antics are as pathetic as they are shameful. I commend Reed for taking a stand!
Nyimah
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Stephanie, quite frankly, my last name is NONE of your business. None! I'm a private citizen that lives in the city of Atlanta. This is YOUR column/blog on YOUR employer's newspaper! Of course your last name is on here. Why don't you use some of that journalistic know-how and find out who I am? I'm not working with any camp, but I bet it feels real nice to claim I'm with Borders or Reed with no substantiated proof. Anything to help you sleep at night and push these papers, I guess.
Edwina
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 6:11 PM
I'm sorry, but I have to laugh out loud at your conspiracy theories. I assure you that I AM a Kasim supporter. I have a yard sign, have contributed and the campaign even knows me. I see no reason to go into further details just because you don't seem to be able to conceive of a person who can support a candidate AND question some of their candidates' positions and tactics. As my Great-Aunt Iva used to say, "There's only ever been one perfect <person> and they crucified him."
Your black-or-white point of view, your blindness to the shades of grey that are such a part of everyday life continually astonish me. Every journalist I've ever known has had a heightened sense of those shades of grey. And that's what's made them superior reporters.
Anna
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 8:05 PM
I think you like conflating issues, Ramage. it keeps the comments up to have to be asked the same question over again. I'll throw you a bone:
"Isn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle exploitative when Reed held a press conference at the very spot that Vernon Forrest was killed?"
Here's a picture to jog your memory:
http://www.atlantaprogressiveblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/img_4579.jpg
Nina
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 9:09 AM
Kasim didn't have a vote when it came to the Furloughs but he DID offer a solution that would have allowed for the furloughs to end without the entire 3 Mil tax increase in July.
Norwood has had 8 years on the City council to figure out Atlanta's finances so claiming she still doesn't know after all these years isn't a real good excuse. She voted against the tax increase but offered no other option (which is Kasim's point) So she kinda just threw her hands up in the air and the problem solved itself. She didn't need to participate.
Why anybody thinks she is going to be any more effective as Mayor is a mystery to me.
Turner
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 2:06 PM
Time's up, Stephanie! The answer is that having offered a plan to fund public safety, as Kasim supposedly did, does not make those death sites any less hallowed. His flimsy "blueprint" is not a green light to take advantage of tragedy.
Reed's press conference at the spot where Vernon Forrest was killed was in bad taste and carried out without regard for his memory. The same goes for Norwood who, in her commercials, exploits the deaths of Jasmine Lynn and Forrest for photo ops. Both should be ashamed of themselves. As for you, your arbitrary indignation exposes you as the heartless hack that you are.
Nina
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 3:29 PM
Now who is doing the exploiting of the "DEATH SITES!!" Nina?
You are obviously taking full advantage of the opportunity to sling both candidates through the mud for your candidate. I am gonna take a wild guess it is Lisa Borders. Got that overly dramatic not subtle tone to it.
Here is one article from back in March where Kasim mentions legislation that would allow Cities to charge 1Mil Property Tax to a fund specifically designated for public safety netting 20 - 24 million.
http://www.sundaypaper.com/More/Archives/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3812/Campaigning-against-crime.aspx
In June our budget shortfalls for Public Safety were around 18 Million.
Mary Norwood's suggestion was a 12 Point Plan that included "Finding out how much the city has and how much it owes to determine how much to allocate towards public safety."
The other points weren't included but I guess nobody told her she had till June, when the budget was due, to come up with a plan.
She had no plan and wasn't any closer to understanding the numbers than she is now. Kasim didn't need 8 years and the onus to come up with legislation that would be within 2 Million of an 18 Million dollar budget deficit.
Anybody sitting on the City Council could have suggested that they only increase property taxes by just enough to take Public Safety off furlough.
We needed 1 Mil but we increased it by 3 Mil. To the Mayor's credit she had been talking about tax increases for the last couple of years but the Council continued to lower it year after year without financial justification.
I want to know how Norwood could support a decrease in property tax without knowing how much we make and how much we owe in her current position.
Lisa Borders would never convince me that she knows her way around the city's finances. Howard Shook and the whole Finance Committee are at a loss on how we got here.
I don't see anything new happening if we elect somebody from this Council.
Anonymous
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Anon ^^^^^ is me.
Turner
Knapp
Turner
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:05 PM
I have never hidden my support of Lisa Borders. I think that she's the most fit to lead Atlanta and have expressed so much to the chagrin of Stephanie Ramage.
How does my support of her, in any way, invalidate the point that Kasim Reed is a hypocrite?
Nina
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 7:55 PM
I think it's interesting when games are played by politicos/residents. Al Caproni and Kwanza Hall were both supported by an Anna who played both sides and jumped to the winner's feet came election day. I don't think Mary Norwood is sincere at all and it's obvious through her lack of attention to public safety, using City Council funds to pay for her early campaigning in 2006, 2007, 2008, check the records please before you comment. I think Kasim is correct in asking Norwood to remove the Ad. I think it's terrible that African Americans can be used in an Ad but every African American femail has been fired every 6 to 8months from Norwood's office in the past 8 years. Check the payroll records before you comment. She has family working in her office and uses poor crime victims to win votes. This is disgusting and I can not believe that people actually believe this is OK!!!!!!!!!!!
Sara
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Sara, LOL! Yes, I am the only person named "Anna" in the ATL. Good grief. I don't even know who Al Caproni IS. I do, however, know and love Kwanza. Always have.
Why don't you turn all those Norwood records over to Stephanie "Pulitzer" Ramage. I'm sure she'd love to break those stories against Norwood. In the meantime, I'll base my decisions on established facts about the candidates and their plans, not distractions like comments on another candidate's ad on a website or calls for the end of nepotism that doesn't even exist with the candidate who's being called out!
Anna
Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:36 AM
I think its interesting that Norwood is trying to present herself as tough on crime at this point in the campaign.
Kasim Reed has the most comprehensive plan for crime, not only to address the issue of police on the streets but to offer alternatives for youth who need a place to turn.
On a side note, why doesn't Norwood release her tax returns? Does she have something to hide? If she truly understands the city the way she claims then she shouldn't be hiding the money she's received from her republican supporters.
s
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 10:38 AM