South Bend Mayoral race heading into critical phase

As with most local political contests, crunch time really begins as September begins to wane and our city's mayor's race is no exception.

You have to hand it to the Juan Manigault staff and supporters - and I suppose the candidate himself. Despite a demonstrated lack of ability in past administrative assignment(s) and a social agenda which would turn off the majority of citizens (if they knew of it), these folks have done an astonishingly good job of making their guy look like a credible alternative. They've had some help, certainly - and I'll get to that point a bit later - but Mr. Manigault has kept himself in the media and done so with a very creative tactic in continuing attacks on Mayor Steve Luecke.

In my Intro To Psychology class (circa 1975) I believe the tactic was called "projecting". If memory serves, this was a phenomenon where an individual would assign character defects to another which were in actuality his or her own. I think it was further explained as typically a preemptive, defensive strategy designed primarily to distract.

The Manigault folks have also kept a steady stream of noise going in the local paper in the form of letters, etc. Most recently, a pretty well written piece by Jeremie Adams was published as a "Michiana Point of View" which painted a bleak view of the state of our city. Its worth repeating...it was pretty well written and even included a few facts! The conclusions drawn were highly suspect, but it read well.

Mayor Luecke's supporters need to take this election seriously - I know his campaign staff does. It may be too late to get your own Point of View piece published, but you can submit letters to the editor and you can encourage others to do the same. You can talk about the election to friends and colleagues. Most importantly, make sure that everyone understands that voting is critical. A low turnout can change the ultimate result.

All this is much more important than I would have thought because the mayor's supporters have a serious obstacle I did not anticipate.

We have only one daily newspaper serving South Bend - The South Bend Tribune. That paper has established a clear bias favoring Juan Manigualt. There is no other reasonable conclusion available.

This paper which publishes the monthly rants of Dorothy Elkins and others accusing public officials of treason and worse with no evidence, no corroboration or any evidence of critical thought at all still refuses to write anything about a public record of gross mismanagement at the Juan Manigualt headed Workforce Investment Board. It apparently doesn't satisfy them that these conclusions were made auditors hired by the board and the head of the supervising agency of that board. They won't even publish a letter with my signature which merely summarizes these findings.

What would you think? What other conclusion is available?

No, the mayor's supporters certainly have their work cut out for them.

Borrowing from Keith Olberman "Goodnight, and good luck!"



Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Don Wheeler



Update: Friday, September 21


The Tribune published a letter from a citizen, Catherine Pittman, today- part of which made many of the same points made in my letter to them. She had other things to say as well. One difference in our letters (probably due to word count considerations) is that she didn't attempt to identify sources of her information nor provide a path for others to verify it. This observation is a not criticism, in case it sounded that way.

Publishing her letter, but not mine reveals a continuation of a pattern where our local paper wants us all to think that there are no facts available - there are only differing opinions. And if there are no facts, then there is certainly no need for the South Bend Tribune to look into them and do their own analysis.

I disagree. They hold the public's trust. They should do their job(s).

Don



(Ms. Pittman's letter)

Critics wrong, South Bend is making gains

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

When statistics clearly document a decrease in crime in South Bend, how can Republican mayoral candidate Juan Manigault criticize the South Bend Police Department and Mayor Stephen Luecke for increased crime?

His supporters say that "perceptions" are more important than facts, but politicians such as Manigault should look at the role their negative statements play in shaping these perceptions. For months, Manigault has minimized and disregarded major improvements that have occurred in the city under Luecke's administration. I look around and feel pride at the cooperation between many different groups that has improved the opportunities, safety and beauty of South Bend.

I'm tired of Manigault's inaccurate, irresponsible complaints about how unattractive and unsafe South Bend is. South Bend may need improvement, but Manigault needs to stick to the facts to see where additional efforts are needed. Crime is down; his criticism of the police department is misplaced. I'm more concerned about the money that was misplaced when he was directing the Work Force Investment Board.

Let's look at Manigault's record. Because of mismanagement, fraudulent checks and faulty record-keeping in the agency Manigault was directing, $1.1 million was forfeited for programs. That money could have been used to train people and transition them into gainful employment. But, apparently Manigualt couldn't keep the numbers straight then, either.

We don't need his kind of inept and negative leadership in South Bend.

Catherine Pittman
South Bend