Lewis Calls for Party Unity and Urges Fellow Democrats to Keep Campaign Clean

Minch delivered this letter to each of the Democratic Mayoral candidates and the Democratic Party County Chairman Robert Romeo on August 30, 2001:

 

August 30, 2001

Robert Romeo
112 Winkworth Parkway
Syracuse, New York 13215

 

Dear Rob,

In 12 days, the Democratic primary will be held and we will know who the people's choice for our party's nominee will be in November. I'm writing to you today because I want to discuss the last few weeks of the campaign and what happens to our party after the primary.

Syracuse cannot afford to repeat the 1993 fiasco that led to the election of a Republican administration and the problems of the last 8 years. History has shown us that the Democratic Party cannot win a city-wide election if the base is split between two candidates, nor can we win in November if we resort to personal attacks over the next two weeks.

To guarantee success in November, I'm suggesting that that each candidate:

  1. Pledge to keep the last two weeks of the campaign positive and focused on substantive policy discussion without resorting to negative personal attacks, including, but not limited to, negative campaign ads, push polling, and defaming other candidates.
  2. Issue a statement publicly declaring that we will not continue our campaign if another candidate wins the primary.
  3. Participate in a "Democrats Only" Debate organized by the Party and promoted to all media outlets (including advocating for live coverage by at least one television station).

I pledge to you that I will adhere to and support these three proposals.

Our City is facing serious problems that require serious solutions. There are serious, substantive differences among us, but I sincerely believe that each of us will address these problems more effectively and serve our community more efficiently than the other candidates. We must focus on how each candidate's visions and plans will make Syracuse great. To guarantee Democratic success in November, we must be united as a party.

If you would like to discuss this or any issue further, call me at 243-2530.

For the good of the City, I ask you to support these three proposals.

Sincerely,

Minch Lewis

Minch Lewis