Editorial

Stick with the city’s issues

Last month, Barry Lee Cohen was the third Republican to enter his name into the 2023 race for mayor, the others are Paige Weinstein and Steven R. Mullins, former P&Z member, and longtime party advocate. In making his announcement, Cohen included an invitation to the other candidates to come together in a “Unity Meeting,” and sign a pledge saying the campaign would be conducted in an issues-only manner, eschewing any questionable tactics. Those tactics included:

~~ To conduct the campaign accurately and honestly, discussing issues relevant to the residents of West Haven, and participate in public discourse only with respect to one’s views and qualifications;

~~ To not engage in, permit, or condone character defamation of other candidate(s) or participate in invasions of personal privacy unrelated in campaign issues, including discourse from one’s supporters;

~~ Not to use or permit the use of any campaign material or advertisement, which uses quotations or images taken out of context and to misrepresent the other candidate(s) or other candidate(s)’s message;

~~ To not use or permit the use of any dishonest or unethical practices of political campaigning, including those of my supporters, which corrupt or undermine the principles of Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment and hinder the ability of West Haven residents to freely express and exchange their views and beliefs;

~~ To publicly repudiate any campaign material or advertisement of any individual or group that engages in activities on the behalf of my campaign or in opposition to my opponent(s)’ candidacy which violates the pledge.

Neither of Cohen’s opponents signed onto the pledge, and we have no reason to believe that reticence is a ratification of “dirty” tactics. Regardless, whether they sign onto them or not, we would hope candidates of both parties seeking the nominations would conduct themselves in the manner prescribed.

Political campaigns are rife with out-of-context or incomplete citations of opponents to, many times, espouse views directly contrary to what the candidate says or believes. It has become, moreover, usual for debates on issues to devolve into ad hominem or scandalous attacks on one’s opponent without addressing the substance of a particular stance. This is an offshoot of the tendency these days to impute motive or ill will on those with whom we disagree, using epithets ending in “phobe,” “Nazi” or “White supremacist” to name a few.

West Haven is in the throes of a longstanding financial and administrative malaise, now going into its fourth decade. The inability of elected leaders to boldly make the decisions necessary over the decades has put us in this place. “Party” rather than “public” is too often the main concern. Add to that a certain amount of cowardice in decision-making as well as budget-making, and you have a recipe for what we have and are experiencing.

Cohen is on the right track, and we hope his party opposition as well as those who are placed in nomination will abide by the prescriptions therein, whether they sign it or not.

The people of West Haven are looking for leadership, not more of the same. Those who seek office should be willing to discuss those issues forthrightly and without use of political sleights of hand. Inform the voters what you believe and have the courage to defend it. Stay away from deceit.