JOE JANIS, San Clemente
Well, here we are again in the middle of another election. Beware, San Clemente candidates, if you become a front-runner and have a mind of your own, some negative ads may appear about you.
In our election two years ago, a group was formed called “Citizens Against Dane Bane.” You probably remember some of the negative things said about Dan. I am not sure what they were so worried about.
Dan proved to be one of our most reasonable and respected councilmembers. Now we have another group going after Gene James. Last week, an ad claimed that “Gene James dishonored the men and women who served our nation.” I proudly served in the Armed Forces, and I am not sure what dishonor he caused me.
I try to judge politicians on what they do in office, not what their opponents say about them. Gene has spent hundreds of hours working on city issues, and his voting record proves he puts the interests of our residents first. So why are we seeing such vicious ads?
It is my opinion, the special interest group that is funding these negative ads against Gene is the same group that once supported him. Since Gene showed more allegiance to the needs of our residents and refused to vote in accordance with the desires of special interest, they turned on him as they turned on our late Mayor Steve Swartz.
They would have applied the same heat to Dan Bane if he were still here, since he also refused to be led by them. Bottom line is, special interest groups run negative ads against candidates they can’t control.
Last week’s negative ad about Gene stated that his votes (on council) are hurting San Clemente. His votes are not hurting us; they are helping us. Gene has consistently voted for us and our quality of life.
Check out his voting record and decide for yourself. Disregard negative ads placed by special interest groups. They are not for the benefit of our community.
