Heimlich and Pepper: It is SO on

Ok, NOW it's officially election season.

Republican Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich, trying to staving off Democrat challenger David Pepper, has launced his first radio and television ads -- and they attack Pepper.

Heimlich doesn't appear in his ads -- except his voice in the trailer where he said he approved the ads.

The ads feature tough-on-crime Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters and heavily feature crime issues. The ads give Heimlich credit for trying to solve the issue of jail overcrowding at the Hamilton County Justice Center and for pushing for a quarter-cent sales tax increase to fund a proposed new jail.

The ads attack what Heimlich -- and Deters -- say was Pepper's role, as a Cincinnati Council Member, in failing to stop increases in homicides. They also note Pepper's role in "handcuffing police" by approving the Collaborative agreement that requires additional paperwork for each incident and additional training.

Pepper responds that the ads are a "smear campaign" that neglect facts and his history of support law enforcement, a reason why Pepper received the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, Queen City Lodge No. 69, during his unsuccessful mayoral race against Mayor Mark Mallory.

The FOP has endorsed Heimlich for the commission race.

• Watch the television ad in Windows Media format.
• Listen to the radio ad in .mp3 format.

Here is Pepper's written response

TV spot shows Heimlich’s desperation.
September 2006
He’s down in the polls (12 points according to Survey USA).

He's done little to move Hamilton County forward.

And now, he's scrambling to make his four year term as commissioner relevant.

Phil Heimlich is desperate and it shows in his first TV commercial. After failing to achieve much progress in his four years as County Commissioner, and also having laid out no plan for the future, Heimlich resorts to inaccurate recounts of history.

His first stab at a smear campaign ignores the fact that both the riots and lack of jail space (more than 8,000 prisoners released early) happened on his watch. Apparently, his plan is to deflect and distort.

In case friends or neighbors bring up those attacks, here are the facts you should know:

- Violent crime increased most quickly in 2000 and 2001, Phil's last several years on Council--before David got there.

- The agreements Phil is attacking David on were ALL AGREED TO BY THE POLICE AND FOP. FOP membership voted to support them because it was a far better solution than a federally-imposed consent decree, which most cities face. David and the police worked together at a difficult time. David was very proud to get the FOP's endorsement for Mayor because of that good relationship.

- Arrests plummeted in 2001, Phil's last year on Council, before David ever got there. After 2001 and the agreements, arrests went up every year. Despite Phil's allegations, police have been doing their job.

- But Phil HASN'T DONE HIS JOB. Because Phil never addressed the jail problem, thousands of people the police arrested went right back out onto the streets. Listen to the police experts in recent months--this is the problem they all say has led to the high crime.

Instead of talking about the real issues the county faces like repaying $225 million to the state, the 8,000 early releases, or the Banks fiasco, he simply wants to change the subject.

We want to move forward, starting with cleaning up county government.

We will respond to his lies, but more than anything, on November 7, we look forward to ending the kind of deceptive and divisive politics Phil Heimlich has brought to this region for far too long.

Thanks for your support.

email: justaddpepper@davidpepper.com
phone: 621-1150
web: http://www.davidpepper.com