Good Cop, Bad Cop Routine Used in Recent Pan Mailers

October 24, 2014 |

In the heated California Sixth Senatorial District race between Democratic Assembly Members Roger Dickinson and Dr. Richard Pan, the rhetoric in mailers, particularly from independent expenditure committees, is not surprisingly nasty.

A glossy four-page mailer sent this week on behalf of Pan essentially tries to hang Sacramento County's well-documented child protective service controversies on the neck of Dickinson. Because I.E.'s operate independently of the candidate, the candidate, with a wink and a nod, can say that he or she is not personally engaged in dirty politics.

However, what happens when a mailer is dropped that is actually paid by the candidate. What sort of messages will it try to convey?

This week Elk Grove voters received a mailer from Pan's campaign that played the good cop role. This particular mailer included the listing of endorsements from some locally elected officials including Elk Grove City Council Members Steve Detrick and Pat Hume and Cosumnes Community Services District board members Gil Albiani and Rod Brewer.

What is interesting about Pan's mailer, aside from one title misidentification, is that it has a seal with a golden bear and the words Proud Democrat prominently displayed. The mailer's message is contradictory in that it seems with the inclusion of the endorsements from two locally elected Republicans, they might have been trying to target independent and Republican voters in the two Democratic candidate race.