Can’t Anyone Just Play Nice?

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

There is a saying, “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than seek permission.”

It’s a fool's saying. It starts with the recognition that one is going to do something deliberately wrong and then try to minimize their responsibility by relying on the better nature of their victim.

Permission not granted, forgiveness not given.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

During the last mayoral election my photographs were honored; published for their value to cast candidates in a light most favorable to an opponent.

The Committee to Elect Richard Berry – Mayor produced a political campaign mailer, “Tired of Politicians Burning Through Your Money?”, using my photograph of Martin Chávez, right.

The Marty Chavez for Mayor Campaign produced two separate printed political campaign mailers using my Romero picture, left; twice on, “Richard Romero’s Record Exposed,” and once on a second mailer, “Richard Romero Giving Thousands to Republican Candidates,”

Problem; at no time did anyone from either campaign approach me requesting use of my photographs. They simply appeared in voters' mailboxes on printed campaign material.

Both camps were billed, but have not paid.

This is Committee to Elect Richard Berry -- Mayor's Campaign Manager Dana Feldman, here with her new boss at the then mayor-elect Berry's victory celebration. She was at least willing to talk.

If this were only a little business deal, who would care, but it is not.

This was a publicly financed campaign with limits on expenditures and rules for their reporting.

If you check the campaign finance reports you will not find my name.

As a result I have filed ethics complaints against Berry and Chávez.

I seek only one thing before the Ethics Board, a finding that the campaigns failed to report expenditures incurred during the mayoral race.

Their problem is my bills busted their budgets in the publicly financed campaign limits, which would be a second and separate violation.

My Take

I am not going to go into greater detail here, as I want the Ethics Board to do its duty.

I’ll let the news carriers dig out the details for you.

There are still some stories to tell about the election, but today is not the day.