Ad Questions Richmond Mayor’s Fitness To Serve
October 6, 2010
RICHMOND, Calif. -- With Election Day only four weeks away, the race for mayor of Richmond took a decidedly negative turn Tuesday as opponents of incumbent Gayle McLaughlin prepared to unleash a political ad that questions the mayor's financial and mental history.
The mayor described the ad as “a smear campaign.”
Richmond's police and fire unions claimed to have dug up some dirt on McLaughlin that proves she is unfit to serve a second term.
Outside City Hall Tuesday, the presidents of the Richmond police and fire unions blasted Mayor McLaughlin.
"The information we're providing you today is somewhat disturbing," said Richmond Firefighters Association President Jim Russey. “Truth is the mayor is not the leader we thought she was. The information about her background confirms that."
The unions said court documents show that before becoming mayor, McLaughlin filed for bankruptcy and asked to have the court dismiss about $100,000 in credit card and student loans.
The bankruptcy documents said McLaughlin suffered from serious psychiatric disabilities and could not hold a job, a situation that would likely continue for the rest of her life.
Those documents were at the center of a political ad which the unions planned to launch Wednesday as McLaughlin runs for re-election against the union-endorsed candidate, Nathaniel Bates.
"Well this is the kind of dirty, gutter politics that we know the police union and firefighters union always engage in, in every election," said Richmond Planning Commissioner Andres Soto.
Late Tuesday, about 50 McLaughlin supporters showed up at city hall waving signs as the mayor fired back.
"My loans were not dismissed. I'm paying my loans now,” said McLaughlin. “They have even increased because of the interest. The $125,000 you have the bill in front of you I am still paying. "
She said in the past her mental health suffered from a series of personal losses and traumas, but she believed overcoming those challenges has made her stronger.
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