Large signs criticizing state Rep. Rae Waters (D-Ahwatukee Foothills) for her alleged "last minute smears" against Republican opponent Jeff Dial went up around town Tuesday night, but Waters says she's stumped as to what she might have done to deserve them.
Waters, in turn, accused Dial of exploiting a loophole in city law to erect campaign signs that are larger than what is legally allowed by cutting the sign in half and posting the two halves side-by-side.
Dial said he put up the signs to counter smears that he said Waters and her "allies at the SEIU" - the Service Employees International Union, which often represents public employees - have levied against him in the last days leading up to the Nov. 2 election. Dial declined to identify the content of the alleged smears.
"They're just putting out lies. I'm not going to repeat those same lies," Dial said on Wednesday.
However, he did say that one of Waters' alleged false accusations intimated that Dial had not received a college diploma, when in fact he earned a Bachelor of Political Science from Arizona State University in 2004.
Waters said she's sent out three campaign mailers, and none of them have attacked Dial.
"I never said anything like that," Waters said. "Does he have something that says I said that?"
She said she's never gone negative in either of her two campaigns.
"It's interesting that he'd attack me on something I haven't done. I think he's trying to hurt my reputation, to get votes," Waters said. "I'm disappointed Mr. Dial would stoop to this level. I wish we could all get together and not go into that territory."
Dial also accused Waters of ducking the vote in the state Legislature on Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's controversial anti-illegal immigration law.
"They don't want to debate the issues," Dial said.
Waters said that she was absent from the vote because she was caring for an ill relative.
"I was taking care of my father in law, who recently passed away," she said.
Contact Writer: (480) 898-7914 or acohn@ahwatukee.com
JohnKanon posted at 2:21 pm on Fri, Oct 29, 2010.
Sorry to hear about Ms. Waters' Father-in-law, but she has a long record of not voting on controversial bills, including:
* SB-1070, Arizona’s immigration law (Passed 35-21, Waters did not vote)
* HB-2400, which defined the term “Partial Birth Abortion” and set penalties for those performing the procedure (Passed 37-19, Waters did not vote)
* HB-2564, which established a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, among other abortion-related provisions (Passed 36-19, Waters did not vote)
* HB-2250, which provided tax cuts to businesses to create jobs (Passed 34-25, Waters did not vote)
* SB-1025, which eliminated the State Property Tax (Passed 32-15, Waters did not vote)
On at least one of these occasions she voted on other bills on the same day.
When the going gets tough, Rae Waters votes 'Present'
Remind you of anyone?