Curt Ankerberg has filed as a candidate for Jackson County commissioner.
I have a quandary.
Should I give space to a candidate for local office, so that readers can get a better idea of who is on the ballot?
Or should I stay silent about a candidate that many Medford-area voters find dangerous and vile?
Curt Ankerberg is a perennial candidate, this time for county commissioner. He is well-informed. Sometimes he makes sharp, insightful observations about local government.
He regularly sends me abusive comments for publication. I delete them. They routinely include sexually explicit accusations of pedophilia and other sex crimes targeting Democrats, local media figures, random strangers, and me. He calls local business leaders and officeholders corrupt and self-dealing. He names names.
He is a vigorous defender of Trump and MAGA policies, including election denialism and opposition to abortion. He nearly won a Republican primary for a state Senate seat against a very strong candidate, technology entrepreneur Jessica Gomez, who outspent him about 50-to-one. I expect him to be more popular now. Ankerberg had been an outlier. He was far too obscene, vicious, and contemptuous of people and norms of behavior to be a plausible candidate. Now he is a mainstream MAGA Republican. Ankerberg hasn't changed. Republican standards and expectations have. Ankerberg sounds a lot like Trump when he tweets in all caps. Obscenity, viciousness, and contempt are features, not bugs.
Ankerberg is smart and strategic in filing for the partisan county commissioner position. His strongest race is in a GOP primary contest, where he fits his voters. He can prove his connection to voters considering the county commission office by showing that he shares their disdain for Joe Biden and his support for Trump and overturning the 2020 election. He is Mr. Red Meat Republican.
Some readers warn me, "Never feed the troll.” They advise I never mention Ankerberg. He is trouble. They remind me that Ankerberg is a Republican. He is their problem, their potential standard-bearer. Let Republicans buy campaign ads to describe Ankerberg. Let them clean their own house, if, in fact, they want it cleaned.
The alternative is for me is to continue doing what this blog has done in prior elections, which is to give examples to readers on how Ankerberg comports himself. He may be the change-agent Republicans want, but he comes with baggage.
I welcome advice from readers. How should I handle this?
The media is constantly publishing Donald Trump's lies and he loves it. Why do the same for Ankerberg?
I think you hit it just right. It's important people are educated as to who & what he is. With so many not affiliated voters my concern is that to some degree means that if not informed they are at least disengaged and need to hear loud clear and often what a dangerous person he is.
Diana Piels