State Rep. Candidate Kifowit Claims Opponent Using Dirty Tactics
Pat Fee and House of Republicans deny any filming of Kifowit's children.
State Representative candidate Democrat Stephanie Kifowit is accussing Republican opponent Pat Fee's campaign of playing dirty.
Kifowit, a city of Aurora alderman, claimed in a news release last week that staffers paid by the Illinois House Republican Organization recently filmed Kifowit at her home and also pointed cameras at the bedroom windows of her young children. Kifowit said one man approached her daughter and questioned her to the point that made the child uncomfortable.
“Not only did Pat Fee start her campaign by immediately going negative, but now she is allowing her campaign staffers to harass me and my family in person as well as on the internet,” said Kifowit.
The release also said the men then harassed Kifowit while she was sitting on her front porch with her husband and children, even driving on the wrong side of the road at one point to yell at Kifowit and her family. Fee staffers have also resorted to harassing Kifowit while she is performing her aldermanic duties, Kifowit said.
“The voters expect Pat Fee to hold herself to a standard of integrity and honesty, and so far she has failed,” Kifowit said. “It really is a shame. I thought she was a better person than this.”
Pat Fee said in response to the release that the “Whole thing is absurd. I’m trying to spread the message of trying to turn our state around and getting into this kind of nonsense is ridiculous.”
Political Director for Illinois House Republican Organization, Kevin Artl, said that none of his staff taped Kifowit or her children.
He explained that the House Republican Organization had learned Kifowit would be filming a commercial at her home and sent a staff member. The staff member stayed across the street and asked if he could ask Kifowit a few questions.
Kifowit then crossed the street to talk and she was asked a question about the state's 67 percent income tax increase.
“She became flustered and was unable to answer,” said Artl. “[Kifowit] has given very vague answers to her stance on the tax previously. ... Obviously when you take a swing and miss on a question on that you deflect."
Fee further called the accusations insulting.
“I am a grandmother and a mother,” she said. “Insinuating something like that is insulting to my integrity as a person.”
The new 84th Representative District includes portions of Aurora, Naperville, Montgomery, Oswego and Boulder Hill.
Sharon Northup
9:25 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
Good for Stephanie for speaking up! Pat Fee you should be ashamed of yourself and your campaign. Stephanie you get our votes!
Auroran
10:10 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
I'm not going to believe either side at this point, because NO ONE HAS PROOF OF ANYTHING. I am not a fan of either party, but in this day & age, and after watching enough courtroom TV shows, it should be painfully obvious... Anytime your opponent or opposing party is doing something right in front of you or to you directly, you MUST get it on video! I find it hard to believe that any two people running for a state-level office these days do not have some kind of cameras on their phones. An audio or video recording of supposed harrassing conversation or actions goes a long way to proving who is truthful and who is not. (Let's face it, politicians as a whole do not have a good record on the truth department.) That way, we'll know or someone will be able to find out, the exact name(s) of any offending political pawns/news reporters/wackos that are violating the rules (written or no), and be able to better verify who they actually work for.
Ms. Kifowitt, as much as I usually find you rather likable, I must ask that the next time you make such claims you back them up with evidence. Anything else is just old-fashioned mudslinging and unfounded accusations. This is the 21st Century, Ladies. Let's get with the program here.
JT Lee
10:54 am on Monday, September 17, 2012
Auroran, here's the video in question! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U9KQ6ER2G0
Martin
12:16 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Sounds and looks like a typical campaign ad.
Richard R
5:56 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
she did not looked stumped to me.She looked like she figured out that is was her opponent group asking her a question. And she did the right thing by not answering it. Because had she did they would have made it looked like she supported the tax hike even if she said she did not.
So Yeah post it on the internet and say she was stumped. What a class act by the other team.
Martin
12:12 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Filming on her property and making her kids feel unsafe is wrong and the campaigners or PACs responsible for it must be held accountable.
But considering the crap that Kifowit is sending daily in the mail, I find is slightly humourous that she is calling Fee dirty and underhanded.
Jane Enviere
2:11 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
How bizarre. Why would it be necessary to send a campaign staffer to stand across the street to watch the opposing candidate film a commercial? Strange, to say the least.
Jane Enviere
2:13 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
Pardon me, send an HRO staff member to stand across the street...still bizarre.
Kelly
8:45 am on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The thing that kills me about these politicians is that she sent a "news" release out about this. A news release? Sounds like a police matter to me ... not a press matter. But man, they will send a news release out on anything, won't they? Aren't Fee's cheesey "the only thing I'm going to raise is hell" ads automatically giving Kifowit the win?
Martin
9:33 am on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
What's giving Kifowit the win is the fact Fee isn't advertising. I haven't heard, seen, or received a single add or pamplet from Fee...nor has Fee been in the neighborhood. Kifowit has been through my neighborhood 3 times and we get daily 6x8 postcards from her, split between tooting her horn or attacking Fee.
Kelly
10:46 am on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Really? You haven't seen the television ad? Hilarious. I've seen them a couple times now, but I can't remember what stations. Here's the ad. http://patfee2012.com/events/
Martin
12:00 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Hadn't seen that. Rather typical political ad to me. Quietly stating that she'll raise h*** is kinda funny though.
DPE
2:17 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
In the mist of all the mud slinging and accusations the most important things are being left out and that is where do either one stand as far as marriage of husband and wife and the cold blooded murder of unborn babies by professional murders paid for by our taxes. Do you think that GOD is bless a State, Country or nation that supports this??