Dist. 23 incumbent says opponent's ads are misleading
Lake County Board District 23 incumbent Anne Flanigan Bassi is protesting two mailers sent by her challenger that she contends are designed to mislead voters.
The latest mailer sent by Republican challenger Carl Marcyan claims “We need fresh new leadership Send all the incumbents home!” It cites details of a pension-spiking controversy on the Highland Park park district board, a race that is not on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The mailer also includes Bassi's picture and text identifying her as an “8-year incumbent,” but does not say on which board she serves.
Bassi, a Democrat from Highland Park, said she had no role in the park board pension issues cited in the ad. She is not a member of the Highland Park park board.
“Either my opponent doesn't know what Lake County government does, or is trying to deliberately mislead voters,” she said Monday.
Bassi said the Highland Park park district is a separate taxing body from the Lake County board. Aside from obtaining grants, there is no relationship between the two agencies, she added.
Marcyan, a Republican from Highland Park, said the mailer is designed to show the “culture of greed in incumbents.”
“Anne Bassi is not on the park board, but she is a representative of people in Highland Park,” Marcyan said. “And, when this happened, she didn't say anything about the situation. She had a duty to speak out against the members of the park board involved in that situation, but she didn't say anything.”
He added he wants to see all Lake County Board incumbents Democrats, Republicans and independents removed from office.
“I am not too impressed with the Lake County board,” he said. “The Lake County board should be a role model in the state, because the state needs one. So, yes, I am saying all incumbents.”
Collin Corbett, who said he works for Marcyan's campaign and admitted to designing the ad, refused to comment.
This is the second Marcyan mailer Bassi has criticized in the past week for being misleading.
The first called for voters to “Fire Big Spending Anne Flanigan Bassi from the Lake County Board.” It said she was “Another Career Politician Who Continues to Enjoy Her Own Payraise.” A 2004 Daily Herald story is cited as a footnote to that statement.
The story reported board member votes on the issue, including that Bassi was one of 13 county board members who approved a 15 percent pay raise, but only after she turned down a proposed 21 percent increase. However, the story did not contain any of the comments used in the mailer despite the footnote indicating the remarks appeared in the article.
Despite the negative and “misleading” ads against her, Bassi said, she will continue to run a positive campaign to show voters why they should vote for her.
“I think it's unfortunate when candidates underestimate the intelligence of the electorate,” she said.