Friends,
Remember, this campaign is not about Walt Eilers; it is about you, the citizens. Thank you for your encouragement! Our campaign grows stronger each day thanks to you. Many of you have volunteered to place a yard sign at your home or business. Many of you have also purchased tickets to the Cajun Tapas & Wine event at Café Rue Orleans on September 8th. We will continue to need your help through November 18. If you’d like a yard sign, tickets to the event at Café Rue Orleans, or the opportunity to contribute in another way, please contact the campaign today.
Fighting the Good Fight
I’m often asked why I elected to run for mayor last fall. When the Mayor said he had no intention of running, friends and colleagues approached me, encouraging me to run. Their support humbled me. They pointed to my experience as a teacher and leader of a teachers’ association; my years spent leading innovative telecommunications firms; and my work today aiding businesses and nonprofits overcome challenges. They stressed my pragmatic approach, patience and ability to bring people of opposing views together to engage in compromise. They noted community involvement through my volunteer work for Seven Hills Homeless Shelter, the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks, and the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association. After much consideration and discussion with friends, supporters, and my wife, Linda, I chose to run. I’m no politician. I’ve never run for political office, and I knew going in I wanted to do things differently – to make a difference.
Since November 2007, I’ve talked about important issues: commercial recycling, public safety, our local economy, promoting the arts, and more—and we’re just getting started. I’ve also worked to make a real difference during the campaign through the Green Heart Initiative, a commercial recycling pilot that’s saved more than 30,000 pounds of recyclable waste since May. In short, my campaign has presented real substance since I announced, and throughout it all, we’ve presented a positive message, continually stressing that we can all work together to tackle the problems facing us today.
And we know we’re doing good things, because the knives have come out in the last month. There are those who’ve stooped to calling names and spreading false information. We’re tired of that brand of Karl Rove politics. We’re tired of seeing politicians work to alienate others for the sake of their own personal goals. We’re not going to play their games. We’re not going to engage in whisper campaigns that spread false information. We are going to leave no lie unchallenged. We’re going to fight back. You can help.
If you hear a lie or slander, speak out. Don’t let the lie or slander go unchallenged. The people who engage in these tactics cheapen the political debate. They reinforce the creeping cynicism that drives so many away from the political process.
Track the lie to its source. Challenge the person to cite their source. Don’t accept anonymity. Anyone willing to call names and question character should be willing to stand behind their own when doing so.
Report the lie to the subject. Contact the campaign being attacked. Every candidate should have the chance to defend himself or herself against an attack.
You can contact our campaign at eilersformayor (at) gmail (dot) com.
Thank you again for your continuing support. Together we can take back this process. Together we can move Fayetteville forward.
