Tillotson goes after opponent, should we follow?

In covering a campaign event Wednesday for the Missourian at which four of five City Council candidates made their case before a group of unionized private and city workers, I found myself in the unenviable position of learning on the job. Questions were raised for me about how journalists cover elections, and what our commitment to our readers should be. After pondering those questions for a few days, I’ve decided to share with you, our reader, how we make our decisions about news coverage on-the-fly and give you a chance to evaluate how we (I) did.

At the union meeting, Sixth Ward City Council candidate Bill Tillotson wasn’t feeling much of a connection with his opponent and incumbent Council member, Barbara Hoppe.

Speaking to members of local unions representing private and public workers, Tillotson criticized Hoppe’s actions on job creation and worker’s benefits.

“We have had several years of really lackluster leadership, point blank,” Tillotson said. “Barbara Hoppe is a disaster.”

Tillotson used Hoppe’s position on the Maguire Boulevard project as an example of her hesitancy in job creation.

“How many jobs did that bring in, whether union or non-union?” Tillotson rhetorically asked the crowd. “And that was big.”

“She (Hoppe) fought at it all the way,” he added. “She fussed at it all the way.”

Hoppe voted in favor of the Maguire Boulevard extension at the April 20, 2009 council meeting, according to the minutes. At the time, she questioned whether the city was doing enough to prevent stormwater runoff and erosion as a result of the project.

Tillotson also suggested the city wasn’t doing enough to close budget gaps by making transit in the town more efficient and using funds that could be allocated for wage and benefit increases for other projects. He pointed the blame for these decisions squarely on his opponent’s shoulders.

Tillotson praised the work of Mayor Bob McDavid, said Third Ward Councilman Gary Kespohl and Fourth Ward Councilman Daryl Dudley have done “pretty decent jobs,” and that he was pleasantly surprised by the decisions of Fifth Ward Councilwoman Helen Anthony, whom he didn’t support initially.

“She’s done a great job,” Tillotson said. “I’ve been pleased.”

Tillotson said Hoppe was the only member remaining on the council of the “old administration,” and that change was needed to ensure greater consideration of city workers’ concerns in the future.

I wrote the story for the Missourian that appeared in Thursday’s edition and on our website Wednesday night. I made the decision not to include the above into the narrative of the story, because I wanted to focus on the concerns of the labor members and the issues they were concerned about in the upcoming election. The workers I talked to following the meeting didn’t mention Tillotson’s position on Hoppe’s track record.

Also, I was put in the uncomfortable position by the candidate of being singled out in the room before the comment was made and given the command/suggestion, “You can print this if you want.” In addition, Hoppe was not in the room to counter Tillotson’s claims.

Too often in political reporting, we focus on the give-and-take between the candidates, and not the substantive issues that are driving the race forward. We become mouthpieces for the candidates, rather than the people.

Wednesday’s exchange reveals the dynamic emerging in the race for the Sixth Ward council seat. I’m currently working on a story about candidate financing that will appear sometime this weekend, and if spending is any indication, the race is going to be a tight one.

But at the Missourian, we continually discuss ways to present the dynamic of a race that will keep residents and voters actively engaged in the process. Did I do enough in reporting this campaign event to do so? Does the Missourian have an obligation to make you, the reader, aware of attacks on other candidates that fall outside the parameters of the issues at hand?