The third-party attack ads targeting Mayor Lary Coppola that have been mailed recently to city residents come from a political committee calling itself People for a Better Port Orchard.
The group’s treasurer, according to state Public Disclosure Commission records, is Rebekah Johnson, who is the daughter of Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Coreen Haydock.
Haydock has endorsed Tim Matthes, who is running against Coppola in the mayor’s race. She wrote a letter to the editor supporting Matthes that was published Oct. 14 in the Port Orchard Independent.
PDC filings do not show how much money has been raised or spent by People for a Better Port Orchard, nor are any contributors to the group listed.
The group registered as a political committee with the PDC on Oct. 14, and soon after that its first flier was mailed out, bearing the bold headline “We Can’t Afford Lary Coppola. It’s time to Let Lary Go!”
That flier criticized Coppola, who is running for re-election to a second term, over the salary increase he received when the City Council approved making the mayor’s position full-time in 2008; over the purchase of Coppola’s commercial property by the city for a roundabout to be developed on Tremont Street; and over a proposed increase in city water rates.
The second flier, sent out this week, takes issue with Coppola’s frequent mention at campaign appearances that the crime rate in Port Orchard has gone down significantly during the time he’s been mayor. The headline asks “Do You Feel Safer Today Than Four Years Ago?” and the flier cites crime categories that had a higher number of incidents in 2010 compared with 2007, such as DUI offenses, burglaries and auto thefts.
The fliers make no mention of Matthes, and he said after attending Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that he had no knowledge of the campaign committee nor its activities.
“I really don’t think it helps me a lot,” Matthes said of the mailing by People for a Better Port Orchard. “I don’t need any help; I’m doing fine with my campaign.”
He’s kept his campaign focused on “public participation,” Matthes said, and “I don’t think any campaign needs to bring in accusations or personalities.”
However, he did say about the first flier that “I think it’s pretty factual.”
