Members of Bucyrus City Council vote to condemn political 'hate literature'
At the urging of the mayor, members of Bucyrus City Council on Monday voted to issue a letter condemning a pair of campaign mailers that were delivered to some homes in the city last week.
"We've not seen this level of hatred in Bucyrus, ever," Reser said. "And I hope that we never see it again."
One campaign postcard attacked Mark Makeever, one of three candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Bucyrus mayor in Tuesday's primary election. The second attacked Brian Gernert, one of two Republican candidates for Bucyrus law director.
A notice on each postcard stated it had been paid for by American Jobs and Growth PAC. The organization is based in Arlington, Virginia, according to the Federal Elections Commission website. The notice also indicated the mailing was not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Super PAC spent over $1M on 2022 federal elections
According to the website OpenSecrets.org, the conservative super PAC's total independent expenditures on federal elections in 2022 amounted to $1,011,561. Of that, no money was spent for Democrats or against Republicans. It spent $123,061 against Democrats and $888,500 for Republicans.
Reser said he had reached out to the members of the Crawford County Republican Party and central committee, asking them to condemn "this type of hate literature."
"Small towns like Bucyrus are seeing increasing polarization ... especially through politics, and it is nothing but divisive for our community," Reser said. "We can all disagree on the candidates and their stances, but in theend we need to respect the candidates and thank them for being willing to serve. If we allow hatred to consume our local politics, then Bucyrus will suffer."
Reser commended Dan Wirebaugh, an independent at-large member of Bucyrus City Council, for a letter to the editor printed in Sunday's Telegraph-Forum.
'Flirting with muck and mire'
"For several local election cycles our area has been flirting with crawling into the muck and mire of American politics," Wirebaugh wrote in the letter. "Well, it looks like we made it."
At the conclusion of Reser's remarks on Monday, he asked council members to join him in condemning this type of campaign literature.
After Reser spoke, Wirebaugh said he agreed that council should condemn "that kind of behavior" and asked how council could go about doing so.
Gernert, who is the city's interim law director, suggested issuing a letter to the editor to local media outlets.
Kevin Myers, R-at large, asked if it also could be sent to the Republican Central Committee.
"You could, absolutely," Gernert said.
Council member Terry Spiegel, R-Third Ward, suggested sending it to the Democratic Central Committee as well.
Wirebaugh then moved that such a letter be prepared and signed by members. Makeever, R-at large, seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
ggoble@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus council joins mayor in condemning political attack postcards
