Butler. You did not set the record straight

I support Mayor Butler, but campaign ads don’t seem to be his strong suit.

It’s been made quite clear that no matter what the intention, ‘The Billboard’ was a mistake. So, why pay thousands of dollars for an atrocious full page ad in Sunday’s Daily Times to talk about ‘The Billboard’?

Here is what I see as wrong followed by a couple suggestions.

The Wrong

1. Your opponent isn’t the only one who saw the billboard as misleading. There are many in your own party who wonders what the point of ‘The Billboard’ was. Why use a photo of President Obama, and why no mention of SC2?

2. This election is about billboards because you made it one. No billboard, no drama.

3. What’s the point of a photo with Marie Johns? How is that going to excite the voters?

4. And the copy of the letter...horrible. First, I’m sure this is the same letter she sent every mayor. Second, who’s going to get excited reading it? Third, couldn’t you have cleaned it up before using it in the ad? The yellow highlight is all crooked. There’s a smudge in the last paragraph.

The Suggestions

1. Don’t ever talk about the billboard again. You took a calculated risk by using it in the first place and unfortunately the folks who felt you crossed the line far outweighed the ones who believed your message was well received. 

2. What I suggested from the moment SC2 selected Chester was to print a couple thousand posters immediately and post them all around town welcoming the SC2 team to Chester. You could have even purchased a billboard with the same message. This would have raised the SC2 image among Chester people this summer so you wouldn’t have to do it now. And, when the SC2 folks come to Chester, they would feel welcome.

3. If you are going to spend thousand of dollars for a one day ad in the local paper, get to the real point, don’t try to set any records straight. At this point in the game, all you want people to know is that your administration has done more for Chester in the past 10 years than any administration in the past. You had a ton of room to list every accomplishment and every campaign promise. And, instead of a photo of you and a complete stranger who is not on the ballot, how about a photo of you with Shep Garner and Nolan Woodland, the people who you are running with?

The only thing in that ad that made any sense is “This election is about who is Best Prepared to lead our City forward for the next four years.” 


In my opinion it’s definitely the Butler Team. But the Butler Campaign Team may be his worse enemy.