BE WARY OF POLITICAL LABELS

Labels are useful for providing order in a complicated world. Unfortunately, labels can also erroneously affect our perceptions, judgments, and behavior. Such is the case with political labels that have become a shorthand for determining who is our ideological friend or foe.

Negative labeling of candidates in political campaigns has become a distressing technique to gain votes. To counter this development, a national “No Labels” movement, co-chaired by former Senator Joe Lieberman and Former Governor Larry Hogan, is supporting moderate candidates and bipartisanship without labels. The organization encourages voters to take time to research candidates and to ignore labels that cause anger and divisiveness.

In the Washington County Commissioner’s race, there is a disturbing trend. The local Republican Party labels one candidate, Democrat Cindy Fisher, with patently false descriptions of her career as an elected official. Since Ms. Fisher announced her candidacy, the following message has been pushed out to voters, “We cannot allow Socialist Cindy Fisher to bring Marxism to Washington County.”

These outrageous descriptions are designed to frighten undecided and independent voters in the November general election. The third and deciding commissioner’s seat will be a hard-fought campaign between Democrat Fisher and Republican candidate, Electra Janis. Republicans are seeking to plant an untrue negative label on Ms. Fisher that could affect the election.

I have examined Ms. Fisher’s record as an elected official and Chairperson of the five-member Cecil Township Board of Supervisors. She has served on the Board in Cecil for nine years.  Prior to this elective office, she was an executive member of her local school’s Parent Council.

There is no evidence that Ms. Fisher considers herself a socialist or supports any policy positions of Democratic Socialism. To call her a Marxist Communist is laughable. However, the Washington County Republican Party’s social media keeps pounding away with frequent rants against Ms. Fisher. To set the record straight, what I have learned with a little investigation follows.

Unlike much of Washington County, Cecil Township has undergone consistent population growth of thirty-five percent over the last thirty years. Cecil’s proximity to Pittsburgh, the airport, and its low taxes make it attractive to families. The industrial park and residential community of Southpointe Town Center is within its borders. This contrasts with a number of small coal mining communities including Muse, Lawrence, and Southview. The median household income exceeds that of Washington and other neighboring counties.

All the evidence of Ms. Fisher’s years as an elected official discloses a dedicated public servant who is fiscally conservative and a moderate Democrat. Cecil Township has not raised taxes during her time on the Board of Supervisors.  She helped secure more than $1 million dollars in grants for improvements to Cecil’s five parks, bridges, the Montour walking trail, and improvements to its public works facilities.  Ms. Fisher’s efforts helped to establish the first School Resource Officer Program in Canon McMillan School District.    

The local Republican Party is also attacking Ms. Fisher as opposed to oil and gas fracking.  To the contrary, under her watch, Cecil Township has provided permits for 24 wells on six pad sites. Ms. Fisher has faithfully supported the continued extraction of oil/gas as an economic boon to her Township.

This Republican misrepresentation of her fracking position arises from Fisher’s protection of private property rights in residential areas of the township. She has joined forces with Peters Township resident, David Ball, past President of the Washington Republican Party, and others to ensure that drilling infrastructure is not placed within residential areas. To do so would adversely affect the residential standard of living and decrease property values that are important to the continued growth of Cecil Township.

If Cindy Fisher were a socialist, her official acts would include raising taxes to fund government projects rather than obtaining grants for recreational facilities. Fisher recognizes that the role of municipal and county government is to provide taxpayer services at a minimal cost, not to undertake social engineering.

One wonders what labels the other commissioner candidates would receive if they were subjected to similar efforts to discredit them. Republican Commissioner Nick Sherman would be labeled a “big-spending liberal” with a high degree of accuracy. After all, he spearheaded the county purchase of the Crossroads Building at an inflated cost of ten million dollars. In today’s recessionary market for office space, the building is worth millions less. Moreover, renting office space rather than an outright purchase to keep the building on the tax rolls made eminently more sense, as proposed by Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi.

Newcomer Republican Candidate, Electra Janis, has no record to attack because she has never held an elective office. However, because of her lack of experience, the negative labels of “not ready for prime time” and “political neophyte,” handpicked by her political handlers could fit the bill.

Incumbent commissioner, Larry Maggi, is rarely the subject of Republican negative labeling. First, he is destined to keep his position as a Democratic Commissioner. Second, his credentials of military service, law enforcement background, fiscal conservatism, proven experience, and welcoming personality are all positive characteristics that Republicans pray for every day.

As we approach this year’s general election, the negative labels will become meaner and more prevalent. My advice is to throw negative political ads with untrue labels into the waste bin.  Do your own research on candidate Cindy Fisher, and you will be impressed by her character and accomplishments.