Phony fliers, real lift: Stranger helps long shot win in 7th District
Tuesday, September 19, 2006(Jeffersonian)Phony fliers, real lift: Stranger helps long shot win in 7th District By Bryan P. Sears A fake campaign flier resembling literature from Martin O'Malley may have contributed to the victory of a largely unknown candidate in the 7th House District and has at least one Democratic candidate in the district complaining of dirty tricks. The flier is from a group called Democrats for Responsive Government. Both of the men responsible for the campaign committee appear to have some connection with Del. Rick Impallaria, an incumbent Republican who represents the same district. The spouse of the committee's chairman owns a company that made campaign contributions to Impallaria. The treasurer of the committee knows Impallaria personally, according to the man's girlfriend. The flier claims that O'Malley, Baltimore's mayor and the Democratic candidate for governor, supported a slate of candidates that included Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and three Democratic House of Delegates candidates in the 7th District. However, the O'Malley campaign said it produced no such flier, made no such endorsements and will take the bogus campaign literature to its lawyers. The flier was handed out Sept. 12 at polls throughout the 7th District, which covers Cockeysville, part of Perry Hall and Middle River. It also might have been sent to the homes of registered Democrats in the district. One House candidate endorsed in the flier, Rebecca Nelson, entered the race late and wasn't considered a serious candidate by many Democrats. Surprising observers, Nelson was one of the three Democrats to win, guaranteeing a spot on the ballot in the November general election. Another Democratic winner in the same district, Jack Sturgill, who wasn't endorsed in the bogus flier, said the handout was part of a coordinated effort to prevent him from winning in the November election. The group's true goal, he said, was to create a ticket of weaker opponents to face the three incumbent Republicans, Impallaria, J.B. Jennings and Pat McDonough. "This is a desperate piece produced by desperate people who realize the strength of my campaign and realize I am a threat," Sturgill said. "I think it's one of the worst kinds of dirty tricks you can play. It's a lie to the citizens." He added, "I think this smacks of something that needs to be forwarded to the state prosecutor for investigation." Nelson, the 45-year-old publisher of a newspaper for the homeless, acknowledged that she was not considered a threat to win by many of her opponents in the primary. Her unorthodox campaign methods did little to dissuade that impression. "Maybe it was because I didn't put that much money into it," Nelson said. "I ran a very humble race." She filed for office July 3, the last day to file, but did not hold a fundraiser until just about a month before the primary. Nelson said she lost money on the $14-per- person event. In all, Nelson said just after the primary that she has spent less than $500 on her campaign. Her campaign literature consisted of rambling sentences in small print photocopied onto both sides of a piece of paper. A few days before the primary, Nelson said she received a call from a man named "Jeff" asking if she wanted to be part of an all-Democratic ticket that included O'Malley. "I said, 'Sure, I need all the help I can get,'" Nelson said. The Friday before the Sept. 12 primary, a box of the campaign literature that featured the bogus endorsements was delivered to her by a William Snyder, according to Nelson. Snyder is listed as treasurer of Democrats for Responsive Government. Snyder delivered another box to a polling place, and she "blessed him with a T-shirt," Nelson said. But the handouts, which look nearly identical to O'Malley materials, even down to the same layout and photo of the Baltimore mayor, are fakes, according to Rick Abbruzzese, an O'Malley campaign spokesman. O'Malley's campaign did not endorse William Donald Schaefer for comptroller, nor did it endorse any Democrats in contested races Abbruzzese said. Nelson said she suspected something was amiss when she overheard others talking at a polling place where she was working during the election. "I had heard it was about beating Jack Sturgill and using me because they didn't really think I was a contender," Nelson said. "If it was a setup to be ugly - God doesn't like ugly. Maybe that's why I won." Meanwhile, Sturgill was the target of a postcard mailed to Democratic voters in the district. The same committee listed on the fake O'Malley literature is responsible for that mailing. The postcard accuses Sturgill of being a "phony Democrat." McDonough and Jennings said they were unaware of the group or its literature until a reporter informed them. "I'm somewhat of a Boy Scout," said McDonough, who hosts a weekly radio talk show on WCBM-AM. "I don't like this kind of politics. I'm sometimes forceful. I know I sometimes call people names like 'wacko' on my radio show, but it's always about issues." Impallaria did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. Abbruzzese said lawyers for the O'Malley campaign would review the material, but he did not expect the mayor's campaign to press charges. Political observers said tactics such as bogus campaign literature can, with varying degrees of success, swing elections. "You can wind up getting a weaker (opponent), one that would be easier to defeat," said Don Norris, director of the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Richard Vatz, a professor of rhetoric at Towson University, said he believes the tactic is "rarely effective." But under the right circumstances, such practices can work, he said. "Sometimes, in a small race, with a small enough electorate, you can get some name recognition you wouldn't normally get and swing an election," he said. Little is known about Democrats for Responsive Government. The campaign committee was formed Aug. 31, according to state Board of Elections records. Those records list two men, Stephen Bowen and William B. Snyder III, as chairman and treasurer, respectively. Bowen, 47, who lives in the 5600 block of McCormick Avenue in Overlea, is a registered Democrat, according to state voting records. He does not appear to have donated money to any campaigns. A man who identified himself as "Steve" answered the phone when a reporter called a number listed in the state Board of Elections committee filing. The man then declined to identify himself as Bowen and said the number was for a business called Air Duct Cleaning Services. A subsequent phone call netted a voicemail message that said, "You have reached the phone of Steve Bowen." Air Duct Cleaning Services donated nearly $200 to Impallaria in 2003, according to his campaign finance filings. State Department of Assessment and Taxation records show the business is owned by a Debra Lee Bowen. The business address is the same as the address Bowen listed in papers filed with the state Board of Elections. The home is owned by Bowen and Debra Lee Cain, according to state Department of Assessments and Taxation records. The phone number for the McCormick Avenue home is listed to a D.L. Bowen. Messages left at the McCormick Avenue number were not returned. Snyder, 44, listed his address as being in the 2500 block of Chilberry Avenue in Harford County, according to records filed with the state elections board. Charlotte Spicer, the owner of the Chilberry Avenue home, said her daughter, Susan Baroch, was dating Snyder. Snyder lives in a house in the 200 block of Haverhill Road, about five miles from Spicer's home. The phone number he listed with the state elections board is registered to the Haverhill address. State Department of Assessment and Taxation records confirm he owns the Haverhill home. Snyder did not return repeated calls for comment. Nor did anyone answer when a reporter knocked on the door Sept. 16. Less than a minute later, however, a call to the house was answered by a woman who identified herself as Baroch and said she was aware of the committee that Snyder appears to have helped create. She also acknowledged knowing Impallaria. "Of course we know him," she said. When Baroch was asked to define the relationship between Impallaria and her and Snyder, she referred all questions to Snyder and hung up. Neither the state nor the Harford County Board of Elections has any record of Snyder being a registered voter. Campaign committees forming quickly in an attempt to affect a primary is nothing new, according to Jared DeMarinis, director of the state Board of Elections Candidacy and Campaign Finance Division. "There's a point in which committees that form prior to the primary election will not have to file reports until after the primary election," DeMarinis said. "Their first report is their last report, and they close. It's something of a loophole." Both the chairman and treasurer are required to be registered voters. Filing false or fraudulent information could result in an investigation by the state prosecutor, according to DeMarinis. E-mail political editor Bryan P. Sears at BSears@patuxent.com