On Tuesday many mailboxes here in Franklin were hit with a campaign lit piece from Mayor Steve Olson who is seeking re-election.

Olson’s piece was large and eye-catching. Multi-colored. Nice photos. Positive message. A good look. Olson focused on themes most voters would find to be priorities: holding the line of taxes and spending, economic development progress, public safety, new housing.

I’ve read a gazillion of these and have worked with a ton of folks who’ve authorized or written such flyers. Most political observers without a personal axe to grind would more than likely concur that Olson’s mailer was sound, impressive, and effective.

Olson’s timing in his distribution couldn’t have been better. Alan Greenblatt on Governing.com writes that is an election cycle like no other.

Politics in normal times is a contact sport. Candidates attend endless events, hoping to convince voters of their good nature and great ideas by looking them in the eye, shaking their hands and kissing their babies. They’re natural extroverts, secretly or openly looking to emulate Theodore Roosevelt’s ambition “to be the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the baby at every christening.”

Now even family members aren’t attending weddings. With the coronavirus leading to bans on large gatherings of all sorts, campaigns have canceled their own rallies. They’re having a hard time getting their messages out when the virus seems to be all anyone can talk about.

There’s more.

Read Greenblatt’s entire article here.

Here in Franklin there is a mayoral race to be decided in the April election (if there is one). Current mayor Steve Olson is seeking re-election against Basil Ryan on April 7th.  Ryan has run for mayor before, and lost. Maybe it’s because Ryan is a former disgraced recalled Franklin alderman.

Here’s  a look at a recent Ryan campaign piece, found on his Facebook page.

Take a look at that first bullet point. It’s very strange to say the least.

When writing a campaign lit piece, if you’re going to list a series of bullet points as Ryan did then it’s smart strategy to go with your best from the very start. This effort doesn’t do that and fails.

Ryan asks potential voters to read his list of facts and ask yourself Why?

Right out of the chute Ryan mentions that Franklin’s business administrator (Mark  Luberda) and city planner (Joel Dietl) resigned in 2020. The implication is that Mayor Olson’s way of running the city somehow resulted in two key figures heading for the exit for good.

At the January 7, 2020, meeting of the Franklin Common Council proclamations were given to both Luberda and Dietl for their commendable service to the city.

In regard to Luberda, Mayor Olson specifically stated that he did an outstanding job for the city and its taxpayers. In his role as business administrator Luberda was driving 100 miles a day, sometimes leaving after midnight, only to turn around and drive back to Franklin for a 7:30 a.m. meeting.

Luberda left, not because of any falling out with Mayor Olson, but because he took a new position as the administrator for Walworth County,  a 20-minute commute of just a few miles.

As Olson said at the 1/7/20 meeting, Luberda was now going to be compensated by Walworth County “in a way we wish we could have.”

Joel Dietl left to take the position of Deputy Chief Land Use Planner at the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC).

Basil Ryan attended the 1/7/20 Franklin Common Council meeting and even spoke at it, complementing both Luberda and Dietl. But now in his desire to oust Olson is trying to make a campaign issue out of Luberda and Dietl leaving simply to do better for themselves and their families.

Earth to Basil Ryan: Workers leaving their jobs for better jobs is…normal. Happens all the time. But Ryan wants to be mayor so desperately this is the stuff he resorts to.

Negative campaigning has long been okay in my book for a long time, as long as it’s true. Ryan’s campaign literature bullet point #1 is disingenuous and not completely honest. Not a good practice if you want the top job in city government.