Senate hopeful Vernon Jones isn’t the only local candidate trying to give voters the impression that he’s got a connection with Presidential nominee-to-be Barrack Obama.
In DeKalb, County Commission candidate Sharon Barnes-Sutton of Stone Mountain features a photo of herself and Obama – taken, it appears, at one of his campaign stops – under the slogan, “Together we can!” Peach Pundit has the post here.
And intown Atlantans have received a subtle flier that juxtaposes photos of eight candidates, with the slogan, “A ticket for change.” From left to right, a picture of Obama sits atop GOP nominee John McCain; Vernon Jones is over Sen. Saxby Chambliss; and two local candidates, Andre Jerry and Chris Vaughn, are above the incumbents they hope to unseat, state Sen. Nan Orrock and Rep. Margaret Kaiser, respectively.
The message is certainly more subtle than Jones’ effort; instead of using clumsy Photoshopping to imply a direct connection to Obama, it seeks to create an association in the viewer’s mind between four youthful African American Democrats. (Never mind that any comparison between right-winger Chambliss and uber-lefty Orrock is ridiculous on its face.)
Does Vaughn’s name sound familiar? It should. Only 30, Vaughn is already something of a perennial candidate, having run for the state House – as a Republican – in 2000; Cynthia McKinney’s Congressional seat in 2004; Atlanta school board; and state House District 59, which includes Grant Park and the Old Fourth Ward. This is his second race against Kaiser, who ousted longtime incumbent Doug Dean in 2006.
Vaughn says his campaign isn’t responsible for the flier, but notes: “The last time I checked, there was nothing wrong with putting your opponents’ photo on your flier.”
He adds that he agrees with the flier’s message.
The other young man on the flier, Andre Jerry, 28, is running for Senate District 36, which overlaps with the House District Vaughn is seeking. The two appear to be BFFs, since they are both highly placed “friends” on each other’s MySpace pages. But then, Vaughn also lists Obama as a “friend,” so the designation may be dubious.
