Special Election megathread (5/21: CA-20)

[Gracile]

^The reason I posted that tweet was because I felt it was important news that one of the minor candidates was spreading a hit piece about one of the major candidates. Your commentary in response to me was entirely unnecessary as sharing news is the primary purpose of this thread.

[GeneralMacArthur]

^The reason I posted that tweet was because I felt it was important news that one of the minor candidates was spreading a hit piece about one of the major candidates. Your commentary in response to me was entirely unnecessary as sharing news is the primary purpose of this thread.

Post wasn't directed at you so much as it was at the many people going "oh no Shontel Brown is such a horrible candidate couldn't we have gotten any better candidates"

[GALeftist]

IDK why this piece is being dismissed out of hand. I mean, we know Brown voted to award millions in contracts to Perk while dating Mark Perkins and that Perk then turned around and financed a bunch of her campaigns, right? Is it really that unbelievable that she'd face an ethics investigation over that? I don't know, maybe MacArthur is privy to some information that I am not, but it just seems a bit like ideologically motivated reasoning to me.

[Morning in Atlas]

Shirley Smith, one of the other candidates in the OH-11 race, is spreading the Newsweek article-

https://twitter.com/SenSASMITH/status/1420031158025428995

LOL THE ARTICLE IS BY WALKER BRAGMAN

It's also by Andrew Perez, who works at Jacobin and co-writes articles with David Sirota.

Guys, this is a classic Sanders campaign tactic and you're falling for it like a bunch of dunces.  It's just a Nina Turner attack ad thinly laundered through "journalists" who are all but on the campaign's payroll, then spread around as though it's a legitimate investigative article.

Sirota was actually being paid directly by the Sanders campaign to do this, and would have pushed out dozens of these articles over the course of the primaries if Edward Isaac-Dovere hadn't exposed him.

I mean in 2019 you had Sirota masquerading as an independent journalist to publish Sanders campaign oppo research on Beto in The Guardian, and now I'm 2021 you have Sirota's two proteges (he's also co-written dozens of articles with Bragman) publishing Turner campaign oppo research on Brown in Newsweek.  Like how are people still falling for this.

Take a look at their previous work to see what you're buying into here: https://muckrack.com/walker-bragman/articles

The article I posted, which corroborated the claims about Brown's broken promises/contracts is an article from The Nation, written by noted Bernie Bro Joan Walsh.

[_.]

Hey if anyone wants a good laugh you should all check out James Jerome Bell's Ballotpedia page!

Olawakandi-level wisdom oozing out!

Image Link

What it says for those who can't read it:

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "First and foremost I would like to give all praise to the most high God is Sovereign of the universe Jehovah God I am from the mean tough streets of Cleveland Ohio having excelled with a lot of my people have failed I believe that I can be at Illuminator to the not only the 11th District, my community ,America, but the world as a whole I believe that with my experiences in life Community, employment entrepreneurship, education and the resolve to make life better for mankind. That I have the wherewithal and also The Human Experience to truly I say to you today make my mark in American society with the opportunity to serve my fellow man through honesty integrity and Truth.The world will be much better for my leadership and my commitment to Excellence. As I Forge a new America that will be a utopian society and what's peace and Harmony is to dwell."

Key messages:

• Utopian peace and Harmony!!!
• Saving our planet and natural resources!!!
• Common sense Gun control!!!

   

I said this on another thread, but if I lived in Cleveland I'd vote for this guy just because of pure comedic value

And on his Facebook:

As a black man in America I can see the tremendous blessing of being born in the mean, rough streets of Cleveland Ohio where I had to be Clever, smart and industrious.Bold enough to dream big. Although I have had my contemptuous moments I have risen , achieved and ascended to Heights surpassed by mere drive and God's will. I want to thank my mother Belle Lettres AKA Madelynne Alfreda Bell for her love, wisdom and support during my journey. There are so Many of my life experiences from Sports, the Arts, military and civilian achievements, but I have to take this time to thank my 9th grade teacher Joyce Petty at Harry Davis Junior High School in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood. Miss Petty influence on my young wife was it has been very impactful!!

[Utah Neolib]

https://twitter.com/Newsweek/status/1420007978711855109?s=19

Honestly, how hard would it have been for Ohio Dems to find a candidate who wasn't either of these two? Turner's better but neither of these candidates are good.

Dear god, is it too late to run Marcia Fudge's mom in this race? Asking for my friends in OH-11...

I would gladly support Marcia Fudge’s mom here

[Utah Neolib]

Hey if anyone wants a good laugh you should all check out James Jerome Bell's Ballotpedia page!

Olawakandi-level wisdom oozing out!

Image Link

What it says for those who can't read it:

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "First and foremost I would like to give all praise to the most high God is Sovereign of the universe Jehovah God I am from the mean tough streets of Cleveland Ohio having excelled with a lot of my people have failed I believe that I can be at Illuminator to the not only the 11th District, my community ,America, but the world as a whole I believe that with my experiences in life Community, employment entrepreneurship, education and the resolve to make life better for mankind. That I have the wherewithal and also The Human Experience to truly I say to you today make my mark in American society with the opportunity to serve my fellow man through honesty integrity and Truth.The world will be much better for my leadership and my commitment to Excellence. As I Forge a new America that will be a utopian society and what's peace and Harmony is to dwell."

Key messages:

• Utopian peace and Harmony!!!
• Saving our planet and natural resources!!!
• Common sense Gun control!!!

   

I said this on another thread, but if I lived in Cleveland I'd vote for this guy just because of pure comedic value

And on his Facebook:

As a black man in America I can see the tremendous blessing of being born in the mean, rough streets of Cleveland Ohio where I had to be Clever, smart and industrious.Bold enough to dream big. Although I have had my contemptuous moments I have risen , achieved and ascended to Heights surpassed by mere drive and God's will. I want to thank my mother Belle Lettres AKA Madelynne Alfreda Bell for her love, wisdom and support during my journey. There are so Many of my life experiences from Sports, the Arts, military and civilian achievements, but I have to take this time to thank my 9th grade teacher Joyce Petty at Harry Davis Junior High School in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood. Miss Petty influence on my young wife was it has been very impactful!!

Is this Olakwandi?

[Morning in Atlas]

IDK why this piece is being dismissed out of hand. I mean, we know Brown voted to award millions in contracts to Perk while dating Mark Perkins and that Perk then turned around and financed a bunch of her campaigns, right? Is it really that unbelievable that she'd face an ethics investigation over that? I don't know, maybe MacArthur is privy to some information that I am not, but it just seems a bit like ideologically motivated reasoning to me.

Yes, but have you considered Ohio's Attorney General is a Trump supporter and the Turner campaign is working with him to bring Democrats down?

[Adam Griffin]

Deeply Disturbing that GMA and others are STRAIGHT-UP ATTACKING A BLACK WOMAN during a Democratic Party primary campaign. Not very loyal! One might guess that they're just a bunch of angry Bernie Bros.

Gurrrrrrls! Y'all need to stop.

[wbrocks67]

I think I'm more annoyed by the constant "I hate both the candidates~~~!!!!!!" people in here. False equivalency is just the worst. Stop it.

[GoTfan]

The reason this story is being dismissed out of hand is that it doesn't fit GMA's preconceived bias of "Anyone endorsed by AOC-worse than Satan"

[_.]

I think I'm more annoyed by the constant "I hate both the candidates~~~!!!!!!" people in here. False equivalency is just the worst. Stop it.

You don't have to think both candidates are exactly the same to be annoyed by both of them.

I think both candidates are trash. Hopefully somebody else takes the win.

[Morning in Atlas]

I think I'm more annoyed by the constant "I hate both the candidates~~~!!!!!!" people in here. False equivalency is just the worst. Stop it.

I agree. Comparing a candidate who wasn't enthusiastic enough to vote for Joe Biden to a corrupt pedodefender backed by special interests and the GOP is a false equivalency.

[brucejoel99]

I think I'm more annoyed by the constant "I hate both the candidates~~~!!!!!!" people in here. False equivalency is just the worst. Stop it.

You don't have to think both candidates are exactly the same to be annoyed by both of them.

I think both candidates are trash. Hopefully somebody else takes the win.

Not to mention, treating such discourse in here as if it's one based on a false equivalency - while not technically &/or definitionally wrong - is still a bit ridiculous given that nobody's actually acting as if they're on the same level of sh*ttiness. From my point of view, Shontel is like ordering from a restaurant where the food is overpriced & disappointing: sure, she sucks, but she's probably not gonna ruin more than your night, whereas Nina is like ordering from a restaurant that - to invoke Nina's rhetoric here - serves you a plate of human sh*t & still tries to make you pay for it: she also sucks, but on a comparatively larger scale. From others' point of view, the roles can obviously be reversed. The point is that even those who merely admit that they're annoyed by both candidates aren't actually going so far as to act as if they're equally bad.

[GeneralMacArthur]

IDK why this piece is being dismissed out of hand. I mean, we know Brown voted to award millions in contracts to Perk while dating Mark Perkins and that Perk then turned around and financed a bunch of her campaigns, right? Is it really that unbelievable that she'd face an ethics investigation over that? I don't know, maybe MacArthur is privy to some information that I am not, but it just seems a bit like ideologically motivated reasoning to me.

Missed this post but to answer, in short:

1) Shontel didn't "steer the contracts towards the company" because the company had been getting those contracts since 1999, fifteen years of contracts worth $75M before Brown was elected to the council in 2014.

2) The contracts were unanimously approved by the entire Cleveland city council, so Shontel's vote didn't make any difference.  Brown didn't even sponsor them.

1+2 are why Brown's fellow council members have spoken out strongly against Nina's allegations.  Cause she's basically implying they were all corrupt, for voting with Shontel for these contracts (also for decades before Shontel ever came along).

3) Shontel said she would recuse herself from Mark Perkins contracts.  But Mark Perkins doesn't own Perk.  The business was started by his uncle and sold to a completely different family and now has nothing to do with him except sharing the name.  So she didn't break her promise.  But even if she had recused herself, it wouldn't have made any difference, because the vote was unanimous.

So what exactly is the story here?  How does Nina explain Perk getting tens of millions in contracts before Brown ever showed up?  Did Brown strong-arm the rest of the council into voting unanimously for corrupt contracts?  How exactly did Brown "steer millions of dollars to her boyfriend" when it's not Mark Perkins' company?

It's just all BS and that's why you have pro-Turner hacks like Walker Bragman writing about it from Brooklyn, rather than, say, local Cleveland investigative journalists.  It's basically just Clinton Cash all over again, taking a mundane, uncontroversial action that the candidate was only loosely involved in, making the case that she benefited from it personally by removing all context, and then seeing just how much hyperbole and exaggeration you can get away with while constantly pettifogging the actual story with wild, unfounded hypotheticals.

[GALeftist]

Missed this post but to answer, in short:

1) Shontel didn't "steer the contracts towards the company" because the company had been getting those contracts since 1999, fifteen years of contracts worth $75M before Brown was elected to the council in 2014.

2) The contracts were unanimously approved by the entire Cleveland city council, so Shontel's vote didn't make any difference.  Brown didn't even sponsor them.

Genuine question, then – why not recuse herself like she promised she would? You say later on that technically she didn't break this promise because it isn't technically a Perkins company anymore, but be that as it may, it's hard to imagine that Mark Perkins didn't have substantial connections with people at Perk today despite that. It seems like an obvious optics issue, and if you're right that her vote didn't matter, why not simply recuse herself and avoid the issue?

1+2 are why Brown's fellow council members have spoken out strongly against Nina's allegations.  Cause she's basically implying they were all corrupt, for voting with Shontel for these contracts (also for decades before Shontel ever came along).

Well, no, because (one would hope) they don't all have similar personal connections to Perk, so it doesn't necessarily follow that they were all voting for Brown's corrupt reasons if indeed Brown's reasons were corrupt. (Also, supposing that they were all corrupt, isn't their pulling together to defend Brown exactly what one would expect?)

[GeneralMacArthur]

Genuine question, then – why not recuse herself like she promised she would? You say later on that technically she didn't break this promise because it isn't technically a Perkins company anymore, but be that as it may, it's hard to imagine that Mark Perkins didn't have substantial connections with people at Perk today despite that. It seems like an obvious optics issue, and if you're right that her vote didn't matter, why not simply recuse herself and avoid the issue?

Well, this isn't what she promised to recuse herself from, so there's no broken promise.  People don't typically go around recusing themselves from just random things.  Especially something as trivial and routine as voting to continue 15 years worth of contracts.

To repeat, Shontel Brown didn't do anything wrong.  The company "Perk" is owned by the Cifani family, and Brown's boyfriend has nothing to do with it.  If they had renamed the company "Cifani" then there would be no story here.  The story only works because Turner can drop all this context to make it look like shady self-dealing when it's not.

By the way you should be very upset about the fact that you're being lied to by the Turner campaign, and tricked into thinking this really bad thing happened when it actually didn't.  But people never seem to care when politicians manipulate them with obvious, outrageous lies.

Well, no, because (one would hope) they don't all have similar personal connections to Perk, so it doesn't necessarily follow that they were all voting for Brown's corrupt reasons if indeed Brown's reasons were corrupt. (Also, supposing that they were all corrupt, isn't their pulling together to defend Brown exactly what one would expect?)

Isn't the Turner campaign's point that she manipulated or forced the rest of the council to give the contracts to her boyfriend?  Otherwise, what's the story?  I's pretty clear their angle is "Shontel Brown used her position on the council to put tens of millions of dollars in her boyfriend's pockets."  For that to be true you have to explain how Shontel Brown made any difference whatsoever in a unanimous, trivial, routine vote.

It's part of a broader Nina Turner strategy, which is to imply that Shontel Brown is some super-powerful local political mob boss who has the rest of the local Democrats on a leash.  You see, Brown forced all those councilmembers to vote for the contract, just like she's forcing them to endorse her and forcing them to speak out against Nina's allegations.  Turner has been pushing this smear from many different angles.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Hey if anyone wants a good laugh you should all check out James Jerome Bell's Ballotpedia page!

Olawakandi-level wisdom oozing out!

Image Link

What it says for those who can't read it:

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "First and foremost I would like to give all praise to the most high God is Sovereign of the universe Jehovah God I am from the mean tough streets of Cleveland Ohio having excelled with a lot of my people have failed I believe that I can be at Illuminator to the not only the 11th District, my community ,America, but the world as a whole I believe that with my experiences in life Community, employment entrepreneurship, education and the resolve to make life better for mankind. That I have the wherewithal and also The Human Experience to truly I say to you today make my mark in American society with the opportunity to serve my fellow man through honesty integrity and Truth.The world will be much better for my leadership and my commitment to Excellence. As I Forge a new America that will be a utopian society and what's peace and Harmony is to dwell."

Key messages:

• Utopian peace and Harmony!!!
• Saving our planet and natural resources!!!
• Common sense Gun control!!!

   

I said this on another thread, but if I lived in Cleveland I'd vote for this guy just because of pure comedic value

And on his Facebook:

As a black man in America I can see the tremendous blessing of being born in the mean, rough streets of Cleveland Ohio where I had to be Clever, smart and industrious.Bold enough to dream big. Although I have had my contemptuous moments I have risen , achieved and ascended to Heights surpassed by mere drive and God's will. I want to thank my mother Belle Lettres AKA Madelynne Alfreda Bell for her love, wisdom and support during my journey. There are so Many of my life experiences from Sports, the Arts, military and civilian achievements, but I have to take this time to thank my 9th grade teacher Joyce Petty at Harry Davis Junior High School in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood. Miss Petty influence on my young wife was it has been very impactful!!

Is this Olakwandi?

ENDORSED! ENDORSED! 1,000 times endorsed!

[Morning in Atlas]

https://twitter.com/ninaturner/status/1421278357178748931

Glorious news! May the teachers lead us to victory.

[wbrocks67]

Disappointing to see NEA endorse Turner. Not sure what that's about.

[wbrocks67]

and Turner won't even admit to voting for Hillary in 2016 and says 'voting is private'

A mess.

https://twitter.com/wyethwire/status/1422327220790509569

[Mail-order President]

and Turner won't even admit to voting for Hillary in 2016 and says 'voting is private'

A mess.

https://twitter.com/wyethwire/status/1422327220790509569

She definitely voted for Jill Stein.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

and Turner won't even admit to voting for Hillary in 2016 and says 'voting is private'

A mess.

https://twitter.com/wyethwire/status/1422327220790509569

Truly pathetic. Admit to having voted for Trump or thrown away your vote on a fringe nutjob.

[Continential]

thrown away your vote on a fringe nutjob.

Why would she have thrown away her vote unless she abstained? She probably didn't vote for Gary Johnson, who isn't a fringe candidate as he was the Governor of New Mexico, and she probably voted for Jill Stein, who got over a million votes, and that's a lot of votes.

[Calthrina950]

thrown away your vote on a fringe nutjob.

Why would she have thrown away her vote unless she abstained? She probably didn't vote for Gary Johnson, who isn't a fringe candidate as he was the Governor of New Mexico, and she probably voted for Jill Stein, who got over a million votes, and that's a lot of votes.

And I'm not sure why Turner should be judged for not having voted for Clinton and gone third-party. It's as if people forget that Clinton was disliked by many left-leaning and Democratic voters, and that virtually all those people came back to the Party for Biden last year.