Geller and Gunzburger Fight To The End
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The nastiest Broward campaign in recent years has ended the way it started — with an expensive series of mailed ads from County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger and former state Sen. Steve Geller.
When all the counting is over, Geller and Gunzburger probably spent close to $1 million. The final totals are not in yet and Geller’s expenditures are hard to pin down because two political committees produced ads for him.
Both camps expect 8,000-12,000 voters to cast ballots in the Democratic Primary. That means if the campaigns did spend $1 million, they will have spent $83-$125 a vote.
Gunzburger did approximately 20 mailed ads and seven cable TV spots.
Geller did maybe 10 mailings and at least four tv spots, although this figure is hard to guage. Geller didn’t post many of them on You Tube and refused to share them with the media.
Gunzburger’s final mailed ad mentioned only her strong stands to protect the environment, her fight for ethics reform and a handful of her endorsements.
Click on image to blowup
Among Geller’s last pieces mailed to voters in the south Broward county commission district were attack ads.
One ad quoted former state Sen. Skip Campbell as saying most Democrats voted for the so-called Scarlet Letter law. This was an attempt to excuse Geller’s vote for the odious law.
The law required a woman putting their child up for adoption to take out a newspaper ad containing the names of her sexual contacts. It was attacked nationwide.
Campbell was right. Many Democrats did vote for the bill which was sponsored by Campbell and they made a very bad mistake, which is why they repealed the law.
But the telling point of this last ad is that Geller is answering a Gunzburger TV spot criticizing his vote. He is off his own message and forced on the defensive, which is never a good position to be in especially at the close of a campaign.
The second ad quoted several county commissioners’ recent attack of Gunzburger at a meeting for pushing ethics reform. I don’t get this ad.
Let me get this straight: Gunzburger is for a new tough ethics law at the county for ten years. Commissioners criticized Gunzburger for pushing for reform. And Geller’s handlers believe this is a negative?
(Once again, Geller’s campaign ignored e-mailed questions. That says volumes!)
This campaign has been going on for two years.
There will be some who are sorry it is over tomorrow Comcast, who made thousands from the race; the United States Postal Service, ditto and websites like this one that got plenty of copy from the combative candidates.
But most of the voters in south Broward will be happy they won’t have to hear the bleatings of Geller and the blathering of Gunzburger any more.
August 23rd, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Buddy,
You have been an invaluable source of information and informed opinion in this primary season. Thank you very much.
August 23rd, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I never thought I would agree with John Rodstrom on a point,but boy, was he sure right to put Commissioner Gunzburger in her place,as was Kristin Jacobs.
If she wins, will they not allow her to be Mayor? Can they strip her of her Vice Mayor title?
She has stooped to the lowest level EVER in any county race, dating back to the creation of Broward County.
If she wins, hopefully, her peers will treat her as the 10th Commissioner on a Board of 9…she does not deserve to serve.
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:04 pm
How dare Gunzburger fight for ethics reform! What audacity for Sue to expose her colleagues for duplicitousness in trying to tank reform! Vote Geller: stop these ridiculous ethics reforms now!!
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Well said Truthiness.
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:30 pm
I hope this is the last time I write here. I have to say I HOPE the voters are wise enought to see through GELLER’S LIES. I have been involved in politics for 25 years and have never seen a worst candidate. He is a liar when he says he is running a clean campaign because he went to the sheriff and trumpeted up a phony investigation of Sue Gunzburger which all the media found out about and criticized him about. He used his Senate position to further his lobbying career as all the media have commented upon and his lies can not change. He tried to stop the ethics reform through his flunkies on the county commission like STACY RITTER. Send him away forever.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Well, tomorrow will tell. For all our sakes, I hope GELLER wins. I really don’t want to see gunzburger there anymore.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I want to congratulate Sue Gunzburger…on running the filthiest, slimiest, and most deceptive campaign in Broward history. I thought the Nikki Grossman-Peter Deutch campaign years ago was bad, but Sue takes the championship in a landslide.
Sue is despicable and doesn’t deserve to be in elected office on any level.