Shady politics in the 91st?
By JR Hoeft | Sunday, January 16th, 2011 | PoliticsJim Bowden has the details.
Bowden wonders whether Kyle Adams, who is helping with grassroots organization for the Chris Stuart campaign, and is the chairman of the For Freedom Conservative Network PAC, had anything to do with recent negative mail pieces authorized and paid for by FFCN PAC against Stuart opponents Chad Green and Gordon Helsel.
Bowden questions the propriety and asks the Commonwealth’s Attorney for York and Poquoson to investigate.
Update – Chad Green responds to the Stuart Attacks:
Saturday was a sad day for Virginia voters.The special election to fill the seat of Delegate Tom Gear has been marred by dishonest, misleading, and dirty attacks by Chris Stuart on both Chad Green and Gordon Helsel. Although it is common for desperate politicians to do desperate things, the events of today go beyond the realm of decency and honesty into filth and lies.
This is the second time this week that the Stuart campaign has been publicly exposed for dishonesty. At the Tuscany Forum debate, Delegate Gear himself expressed shock that a mass “robo-call” by Stuart called Gear “a dear friend,” although the two hardly know each other.
At two debates, Chad Green proudly repeated the Tea Party motto that he would “party in Richmond like it’s 1773,” referring to the year of the Boston Tea Party. In an attack mail piece, the Stuart campaign edited the quote to change the meaning and deliberately misquoted Green’s remark that he would “party in Richmond…”
Stuart sent out an equally appalling attack ad on Gordon Helsel, which demeaned an honorable military career including service to our country on the battlefield and an exemplary record of service as Mayor of Poquoson. A picture of a pair of handcuffs was associated with the character and public service of Helsel.
The Stuart campaign has today followed its dishonesty with even more lies. After being confronted with the deceptions, Stuart responded that there was not enough time to publicly denounce the ads, but went to his Facebook page to deny any connection to the mailings and the FFCN group, which authorized the attack mailings. This was also untrue, as the head of FFCN, Kyle P Adams, is actually a campaign staffer for Stuart and has been paraded by Stuart as a supporter on another mailer.
Delegate Glenn Oder (R) Newport News, today issued the following statement:
“I find the recent campaign ads portraying handcuffs and attacking
lawyers for serving in the General Assembly reprehensible in the
Republican primary for the 91st district. Taking quotes out of context
misrepresents the intention of the statement and is a campaign
practice that has no place in honestly run campaigns. The individuals
responsible for these flyer’s should immediately apologize and I hope
they would withdraw themselves from the campaign.”This sad day is but one more piece in the Stuart pattern of deception. This pattern began in the first days of the campaign, when Stuart shook hands with Green in the presence of a witness, looked him in the eye, and promised that there would be no negative campaigning. In the Tuscany debate, when asked whether he actually lived in the district and where he spent his nights, Stuart actually claimed that he did not remember where he had spent two of the last three nights. 180 days ago, Chris Stuart swore an oath to serve the people of Hampton as a member of it’s City Council for a term of 4 years, but didn’t mention that he had already purchased the website name for” Chris Stuart for Mayor”, “Chris Stuart for Congress”, and “Chris Stuart for Delegate” before his council term ever began.
The Green campaign challenges Stuart to “man up,” to both his involvement in the misleading campaign, and the fact that he does not actually live in the 91st District. Changing an address on paper does not constitute an “abode” as required by the Code of Virginia.
The Green campaign would like to thank the people of the 91st District who have called to alert us of this problem and who have signed up today as volunteers. Chad Green would also like to thank the Republican Party officials who have called to offer support, strategic advice, and other forms of assistance.
Most importantly we appreciate the honest campaigns by the other candidates, and wish them a clean and competitive campaign.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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22 Responses to "Shady politics in the 91st?"
As a side note on Kyle Adams, in addition to being investigated for embezzlement, I know for a fact he has stolen proprietary information from the Republican Party of Hampton. More specifically all of their members private email addresses. I spoke with an individual in a leadership position with the committee and he explained that he was well aware of that.
This is precisely the reason I’m getting so turned off by politics, I used to really enjoy being involved in campaigns. But it’s sleezy people like Kyle Adams, and scummy back stabbing campaigns like Chris Stuarts running that have just barely come short of totally turning me away from being involved with campaigns at all.
Furthermore, as I’ve mentioned in other Bearing Drift posts, Stuart has now resorted to posting 4×8′s in cemeteries. Let’s me know exactly how much class this guy really has.
Hey Stuart, why don’t you do the voters a favor and finish out your term on City Council like you promised the voters you would?
What cemetary? I have not seen that and I am also a “hampton resident”.
I like how this says “desperate” campaigns resort to this, but it is “desperate” campaigns that run to bogs because they know what they said is true. I have haven’t seen Helsel posting anywhere about the ad (therefore, I believe that he isn’t worried about the possibly false attacks), but yet I have seen it from Green, and anyone else that is helping him all OVER social media like FB, e-mail and blogs since yesterday. I actually didn’t even recieve the ads, but got them from a neighbor after seeing Green’s whining. So, I would like to thank the Green campaign, and his “friends” for pointing it out to me.
Lynn22,
This press release from the Green campaign was sent to many media outlets.
Our goal here is to provide the readers as much unfiltered and unedited information as we can on politics from a conservative’s perspective.
We hope, that after seven years of doing this, we are seen more as an information and commentary provider.
If the Stuart, Helsel, or Schmidt campaigns have thoughts or statements that will help voters make a more informed decision, we’ll certainly share it.
Hampton Roads Center Parkway… That cemetary. Shall I take a picture? Even my ten year old made a comment about it. I told her I was so proud of her for knowing the difference between what was right and wrond for a campaign to do
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@ Lynn, and why is that the only issue that concerns you. It doesn’t concern you that a member of your own staff was investigated for embezzlement? It doesn’t concern you that he stole the email addresses you guys are using from the Republican Party of Hampton. This is precisely the thing that has turned me off from caring about politics. CAMPAIGNS LIKE YOURS!!!!! THANKS ALOT
We need Chris Stuart like a fish needs a bicycle.
I got five election flyers in my mailbox yesterday. One was from Teresa Schmidt, one was from Chad Green, one was from Chris Stuart and two were from the “FFCN PAC”.
I had to look up the FFCN PAC.
Teresa Schmidt’s card was an endorsement from Tom Gear and Chad Green’s was a laydown of his experience and his plans. Chris Stuart’s piece represents him as “Hampton’s Own” and lists his backers (including Kyle Adams) and accomplishments. It fails to mention that the outgoing delegate, Tom Gear, blasted Chris and publicly called him dishonest and said, “You are NOT ‘my good friend’” as Stuart’s robocalls had falsely claimed. It also fails to address the issue raised at the forum by one concerned voter that Stuart established a legal residence in this district (so he could run) less than two weeks ago and hasn’t been spending his nights there. Basically, the voter felt he was a carpetbagger and an opportunist. I felt Stuart was evasive on the issue. So I dug further. The more I dug, the more manure I unearthed.
We’ll get back to that.
The two pieces of literature funded by the FFCN PAC grossly misrepresent Helsel and Green and distort what they said to the point of disbelief. We really don’t need this kind of bull$@#t — let’s call things the way they are and not give snippets of sentences to mislead voters.
The two FFCN mailers are defamatory and intentionally misleading.
One quotes Gordon Helsel as having said, “Don’t send me to Richmond handcuffed” and the second piece quotes Chad Green as having said “When I go to Richmond, I am going to party . . .”
Neither piece is worth the paper it is printed on. Pure scum and slime. This race deserves better. So do voters.
From my perspective, unless Chris Stuart denounces these ads and can prove he was unaware of the effort to put them out there, he reflects everything that derailed the Republican Party and ushered in the Democratic demise of our state and our nation.
When I was checking into Chris’ filings, I learned that, on August 3, 2009, Chris Stuart requested and paid for four different URLs:
1. CHRISSTUARTFORCITYCOUNCIL (the race he was entering at that point in time and position he has held for less than one year)
2. CHRISSTUARTFORDELEGATE (this “unanticipated” race, that is — unanticipated to everyone except Chris)
3. CHRISSTUARTFORMAYOR (a race he may intend to enter when he tires of his City Council job — oh, wait, apparently, he’s already tired of that after less than one year.)
4. CHRISSTUARTFORCONGRESS (a race he likely thinks will be his next step after mayor and before the governor’s mansion or the White House. And to think Scott Rigell may have endorsed the guy who is counting the days to unseat him.)
After hearing Chris lash out against term limits, I realize his plan to avoid spending too many terms in one office is to simply leapfrog to the next hight=er post — regardless of what job he leaves unfilled or undone.
The FFCN PAC mailers were funded by Kyle Adams and other Stuart cronies. Stuart needs to apologize for them AND publicly denounce the FFCN PAC for misleading voters.
The first mailer from FFCN PAC painted Gordon Helsel as a man HELsel-bent on raising taxes. I really didn’t get that impression at the forum and it’s not what he said. Helsel appeared to be the most experienced candidate with regard to transportation challenges on the peninsula. He was discussing options that would be available to fund badly needed projects and simply said he didn’t want to be boxed in (e.g., “handcuffed”) if he won this seat and had to deal with those issues.
The second mailer is even more egregious. What Chad Green said was, “When I go to Richmond, I am going to party like it’s 1773!” in reference to the Boston Tea Party. He had just laid out $12 million in specific cuts he would initiate to save VA taxpayers money if elected and then made the statement to let voters know he had a budget axe and was going to slash spending and taxes — like our forefathers wanted to do in 1773.
Like many others who are “peeling back these onions”, I am seething at the unwarranted, deceptive slime and conspired plan to unfairly attack some fine candidates. I will NOT sit back and allow this slime to happen — especially as it originates from a place where I have lived during six separate decades.
Call me old-fashioned, but these flyers are only good if the roll in the bathroom is bare. We deserve better than this and we definitely deserve better than Chris Stuart.
Even if he has lived in our district for almost two whole weeks. My advice to Chris: don’t unpack at the fake address.
Character is too important to overlook. These times are some of the worst I’ve seen. We need to send the BEST to Richmond and to Washington.
I cannot believe what Mr. Stuart has done. Mayor Helsel is a war hero!
Spread the word
http://www.truthonstuart.com
I cannot believe what Mr. Stuart said about a war hero like Gordon Helsel.
Please spread the word on Mr. Stuart’s antics!
http://www.truthonstuart.com
@ Hampton Resident… AKA: JOSH C who is supporting for Tom’s “gal”….. it’s amazing to me that you would have such things to say, that this has ruined you from being invloved in politics. When you get paid for politics? I know this, because I saw the same post on FB. BUSTED!!!!!
BTW, I never said who I support, except that it isn’t C. Green!
Under Virginia law you are required to declare who pays for websites which attack candidates or endorse candidates for political office. People are accusing Stuart of doing something which was clearly marked paid for and authoirzed by someone else but this person who created this website wont even man up and say paid for and authorized by ……
@JR I am sorry if you misunderstood me. I was not speaking about BD being unfair at all. I very much enjoy your site.
Was simply stating that I believe the Helsel campaign is doing the right thing by staying quiet, it shows that it isn’t threating him.
Green’s campaign is drowning, and it shows!!
Lynn22, I found out who you are, and that you are involved with the Chris Stuart campaign. That explains why you feel compelled to defend things that you would probably rather not defend. The word in Richmond is that your campaign is now the hot topic among prominent members of the House.
I dont understand how this article can even be considered journalism. It is nothing more than a 1 page ad for Chad Greens campaign. Perhaps this is why no one reads bearing drift…
I agree and the posts seem to be nothing about chad green is soo amazing. Look I am a lawyer too and the green mailer was what it was but the hesel mailer proved hes a tax raiser its also almost the exact mailer TOM GEAR sent out!
Not sure what the heck everyone is going nuts about, any chance bearing drift will post the mailers that are supposedly so offensive? I’d love to see them for myself rather than take Chad Green’s word that they are “offensive.”
@BeringDriftSucks: If ignorance is bliss, you MUST be in ecstasy. Your moniker is a reflection of your lack of any or all of the following: class, education, experience, objectivity. Maybe things will improve when you get your G.E.D.
This blog is, perhaps, the best chance that voters have to discuss issues of import in a balanced way. Sure, there are “plants” like Lynn 22 who are tied to specific camps and campaigns, but there are a number of us who aren’t aligned with anyone and simply want to level the playing field when money, connections and other venues are pre-disposed to unfairly support or unfairly withhold support from any particular candidate.
Bearing Drift is the one venue where an average voter who genuinely cares about the issues or his/her district or his/her family’s future can come to post or to learn.
The blog definitely leans to the right, but that’s tied to the name and we are, for the most part, more conservative in our views. From my experience, it’s fairly widely read and definitely well-regarded. Kudos to JR for a job well done. And, for the record, it speaks volumes that he let you post your ill-informed nonsense.
@ Glen Earle, we already know lynn22 is Nicole W. @lynn22, you got the wrong person, guess again
Unfortunately, only a handful of people will learn about the mailers because the local newspaper will probably not discuss the issue. The amount of advertising Chris Stuart is doing with them in this short time-frame is considerable. Whether or not there is a connection there is debatable, but it would not be the first time the local paper I write of has withheld newsworthy information.
I live in Hampton, but I do not live in the 91st district. If I did I would have no problem casting a vote for Helsel or Green. I know very little of Schmidt and cannot comment on her qualifications. I could not support Stuart because he is a member of the “Gang of Four” on Hampton City Council that is generally not interested in the concerns of the common people.
Hey Mike,
You bring up an interesting point. The house that the Stuart’s lived in on Chesapeake Ave. was purchased from William Van Buren. My memory may be playing tricks on me but I thought it was a Van Buren that owned the Daily Press at one point.
Probably just a coincidence.
VAN BUREN WILLIAM R JR ET UX 10/27/1997 175000 1219 1449
VAN BUREN WILLIAM R JR ET UX 12/01/1964 42000 0358 0169
VAN BUREN WILLIAM R JR ET AL 08/01/1964 0 0020 0225
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Chris Stuart is a no-experience, non-committal climber. I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He purposely misrepresents the actions and decisions of his colleagues, in order to cast a rosy light on himself. A win for him would only allow for an equally-poor and unqualified replacement on Hampton city council, and afford a greater population the benefit of mis-representation.
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