Report by Paula Antolini
October 27, 2018, 12:23PM EDT
Photo above shows Democratic candidate Will Haskell shaking hands with Senator Toni Boucher, making his promise that his campaign would “never do push polls” or “low and late mailers” as he stated at the recent ‘2018 Political Forum and Meet the Candidates Night‘ hosted by the Northern Fairfield County Association of Realtors.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR / OPINION
Democratic Candidate Will Haskell Breaks a Promise He Made to His Opponent Senator Toni Boucher
During a debate between Will Haskell and his opponent Senator Toni Boucher, at the recent ‘2018 Political Forum and Meet the Candidates Night‘ hosted by the Northern Fairfield County Association of Realtors, the topic of push polls came up. Haskell shook hands with Boucher and promised his campaign would “never do push polls” or “low and late mailers.”
In less than two weeks after Haskell made his promise to Boucher on October 11, 2018, a postcard criticizing Boucher was sent out to voters this past week. (See postcard at bottom of page.)
Listen to Haskell making his promise at the debate, in this video below:
Haskell said, “In terms of people changing their minds at the last minute, that’s because too often politicians resort to these low and late mailers where they send out frankly, lies, that cannot be rebutted in time. I pledge not to do that in our race. Absolutely.” To which Sen. Boucher replied, “You do? Oh my God, can we shake hands? Wouldn’t that be refreshing. And no push polls either?” Haskell replied, “No push polls.” Thank you, you’re committed,” said Boucher. “”Yes,” said Haskell.
“Well we never do that, yes that’s something we never do. We never talk about the opponent in any way,” said Boucher.
Haskell continued, “I think low and late mailers are the worst in politics, so are push polls for that matter. My campaign would never do a push poll.”
On September 22, 2018, the Bethel Advocate published an editorial “Letter to the Editor: ‘Push Poll’ Telemarketing Calls Falsely Painting Candidate Sen. Boucher in Negative Light.” In a letter from Michele Tivey of Weston, CT, who received a push poll call, she said in part, “I’ve never witnessed a push poll against a candidate that has contained this volume of questions, and so many that are patently false. At one point in the poll, I was asked if I’d changed my mind yet, and whether I’d be voting for the candidates running against Senator Boucher. When I responded that I hadn’t changed my mind, I was read multiple negative questions painting Senator Boucher in a very negative light and repeatedly lying about her record on issues from education funding, and tax reform, to healthcare, and LGBTQ rights. Each time I was asked whether these statements had made me more concerned about voting for Senator Boucher. And each time I stated that since these statements were outright lies I was more concerned about whomever had written them than I was about voting to re-elect the Senator.”
The photo and video above shows Democratic candidate Will Haskell shaking hands with Senator Toni Boucher, making his promise at the recent ‘2018 Political Forum and Meet the Candidates Night‘ that his campaign would “never do push polls” or “low and late mailers.”
If Haskell breaks his promises and lies publicly during a campaign debate, how can we believe he is telling the truth on anything else he says? Will he do just about anything to get elected? The fact that Haskell broke a promise and printed and mailed a smear campaign postcard right after he promised not to do so, and said he would never do so, should be a red flag.
Haskell makes lots of promises but offers no direct solutions or record of success regarding those named topics. That, combined with Haskell’s lack of substantial experience in legislation in the 22 years since his birth, compared to Sen. Boucher’s 22 years of experience working in legislation, being on numerous legislative committees (chairing many), winning awards for her work and dedication, and being endorsed by many major organizations, should be a no-brainer for voters.
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See smear campaign postcard here (2 sides):
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Editor Note:
A so-called “push poll” is an insidious form of negative campaigning, disguised as a political poll. “Push polls” are not surveys at all, but rather unethical political telemarketing — telephone calls disguised as research that aim to persuade large numbers of voters and affect election outcomes, rather than measure opinions. This misuse of the survey method exploits the trust people have in research organizations and violates the AAPOR Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.—American Association for Public Opinion Research
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