When I recently read a distorted and negative letter from a Republican operative about me on the editorial page, I prepared a response. I then read another letter about me written by a Republican Party member, who coincidentally is running for council. This is a fact that he conveniently failed to mention in his attack letter. Reading those letters brought to memory a response from our former great president, Ronald Reagan. Confronted with similar attacks, President Reagan said, “There they go again.”
What is their concern? Why are they attacking me? It is because I dared to question their standard bearer at a council meeting. In their minds, anyone who questions Stephen Acropolis must be demonized. You can see it in the letters of the Republican operatives week in and week out. Any criticism or questioning of Acropolis is immediately responded to with character assassinations and negative letters. They have even researched the voting records of private citizens to embarrass them and attack their character.
It is no surprise, this being an election year, but that team started campaigning in January 2004 and their mayor candidate declared on New Year’s Day 2005. The election is not until this November. In fact, I have not even declared my candidacy as of yet. Should I decide to run and should my party decide to select me, I still have to go through the primary election. The Republicans however, have already declared and have already ratcheted up their campaign with heated rhetoric and smear tactics. My Democratic colleagues and I are focused on being about the people’s business. That is what we were elected to do and that is what we took an oath to do. The Republican’s focus, however, is to say and do what ever will get their candidates elected this fall.
You may wonder why someone would subject himself to this negativity. Being a student of history, I thought of great people who, through out the ages, have responded to this question. Plato once said, “The penalty good men pay to indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” I am nobody special, just me. But I took an oath, I was raised here and I raised my family here. Brick is what I know and love.
Frederick J. Underwood
Brick councilman