BO DOROUGH: Runoff election won with effort in south, east Albany

I was personally offended and greatly disappointed for the many volunteers who worked on my campaign when I read Mr. Fletcher’s editorial “A bit of political sleaze trickles down to local level.” Carlton contends I had “some help from social media trolls … who mixed rumor and misinformation in with actual fact and turned it into an underground groundswell of support for (me) and contempt for the incumbent”. He further asserts the “election went down as one with enough sleaze to at least get politicians up the food chain in Atlanta and Washington’s attention.” A subsequent editorial, in which Mr. Fletcher stated his observations were not directed at me, cannot be reconciled with the assertion that he has “grown ever more disgusted by the lengths politicians will go to win a campaign.”

A responsible journalist would have evaluated the election results prior to alleging “social media trolls” influenced the outcome. Turnout for the runoff was down in all 21 precincts, meaning there was no “groundswell of support.” The fact that less than 20% of registered voters came to the polls reflects pervasive indifference rather than incitement.

The “political insiders” who spoke with Carlton “noted that Hubbard is quite popular throughout the community …” These individuals are almost certainly aware Ms. Hubbard’s campaign commissioned a poll, which was conducted shortly after qualifying. The results, I understand, confirmed the vast majority of citizens are dissatisfied with the direction of the city, and indicated Ms. Hubbard might be eliminated in the general election.

I did not run a campaign “to win at all costs.” Anyone who was in any way involved with the campaign knows that I offered myself as a candidate because I want better for this city. I did nothing, I said nothing, of which I would be ashamed – win or lose.

Why didn’t The Herald cover the debate at ASU or report on the campaign disclosures? The community should have been aware of who financed Ms. Hubbard’s campaign – high-paid administrators from Phoebe Putney, bank presidents, law firms, former elected officials, and individuals and businesses who provide services to the city – prior to the runoff. Conversely, voters should have known if elected, I would not be beholden to anyone. (I received only three contributions of more than $500, and one was from my father.)

Voters received mail-outs, text messages and phone calls from Ms. Hubbard’s campaign in the weeks prior to the general election. (Financial disclosures confirm Ms. Hubbard’s campaign paid $30,000 to a political consulting firm.) The campaign, for some reason, went into hibernation in the runoff. I assume the “political insiders” who were sources for Mr. Fletcher (and presumably the press releases which were published as articles during the campaign) were confident I could not possibly be elected. Ms. Hubbard, after all, had the support of the political establishment (Cohilas – he’s the one with the pocket square), prominent ministers, the hospital and her other contributors, and even an endorsement from Stacey Abrams.

I committed to concentrate my efforts in south and east Albany, once I made the runoff. (I would not think the voters in these precincts are particularly influenced by the “social media trolls” referenced in Mr. Fletcher’s editorial.) The real story is how and why I increased my share of the vote from 7% to 35% at Alice Coachman, from 11% to 35% at Bill Miller, from 5% to 30% at Carver Teen Center, from 9% to 36% at Litman Cathedral, from 7% to 33% at Mt. Zion, from 13% to 41% at Phoebe East, from 10% to 34% at Shiloh Baptist, and from 12% to 31% at Westtown Elementary.

Tommy Coleman (the guy who said “people, if given the chance, like to vote for people who look like them”) and the other former elected officials who supported Ms. Hubbard operated in a different landscape. I went to one church – mine – during this campaign. I did not solicit the support of a single minister. Our focus was on individual voters, not any group or block. I spent countless hours preparing a detailed website, bodoroughformayor.com, as it is very important for me that the citizens of Albany understand my proposals for addressing (not “fixing”) issues which plague this city. I knocked on peoples’ doors, and handed them a brochure, setting forth my platform, and encouraged them to visit the website for more detail. I answered any questions they might have had, and asked that they consider voting for me. This strategy was predicated upon the certainty that no citizen is any more or any less important than any other citizen.

We won this election, because most people are capable of thinking independently.

Mr. Coleman and his friends can be (not rest) assured I will be working for the citizens of Albany, rather than for him and his friends on the hospital and bank boards.

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