And let the mudslinging begin . . .
It appears that the general election campaign for Harrisburg mayor is off to an unexpectedly early and potentially ugly start — and that start is today.
Many of the area’s prominent Democrats will gather tonight in Midtown Scholar Bookstore for a “Unity Rally” in support of the party’s nominee, Eric Papenfuse. These Dems include everyone from state officeholders (Eugene DePasquale, Rob McCord, Rob Teplitz, Patty Kim) to county (George Hartwick) to local (a bunch of City Council members). Notably, it also includes city Treasurer John Campbell, formerly a fervent Dan Miller guy, which may signal which way Miller, who won the GOP nomination as a write-in, is leaning about running as a Republican.
The Papenfuse rally evidently prompted independent candidate Nevin Mindlin to come out swinging this morning, as he released a very negative press release, which starts out:
“Nevin Mindlin, Independent candidate for Harrisburg Mayor, today denounced the Dauphin County Democrat party’s call for post primary unity on behalf of Eric Papenfuse as an abject failure. Citizens across the political spectrum, including those at the heart of the local Democrat party organization, continue [to] express distrust of the primary winner.”
And it doesn’t get any more positive from there. [Note to Nevin: If you want to get the support of Democratic voters, don’t use the silly Republican slight “Democrat Party.” Free advice.]
Meanwhile, the (so far) two-way race is about to turn into a three-way, with the entry this afternoon of Air Force Staff Sgt. Nate Curtis, who will announce as an independent. No word yet on when, or whether, he’ll start to go negative.
When Papenfuse won the primary last month, the mayor’s race appeared to be mostly settled in this largely Democratic town. That may still be the case, but now it seems like it could be a long, dirty road to Nov. 5.
