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October 01. 2014 2:00AM Our View: 'Negative' is in the eye of the beholder Complaints from candidates and their supporters that an opponent is "going negative" in campaign ads are a perennial feature of elections. Sometimes it's true that campaigns resort to mud-slinging by attacking an opponent personally, but more often what is perceived as "negative" is merely an ad criticizing an incumbent's voting record. For the most part, it seems that is what is happening in the competitive race between state Sen. Alan Bates, D-Medford, and Dave Dotterrer, the Republican challenger who came close to unseating Bates in 2010 and is making another run this year. Dotterrer's campaign has sent out mailers criticizing Bates for not supporting education reform and for opposing tax breaks for small businesses while voting for breaks for big businesses in the northern part of the state. Whether those criticisms are accurate is a matter of debate. But that's what campaigns ought to be about: which candidate will do the best job for the residents of the district. Like it or not, an incumbent's voting record is fair game. The problem with focusing on votes is that a single yes or no vote on a single bill may not reflect everything that went into the decision. The bill may have been badly written, or the vote may have been a procedural matter that reflected parliamentary strategy rather than the substance of the actual legislation. It's also easy for a challenger to stand back and take potshots at an incumbent's voting record when the challenger has no corresponding record to compare it to. The tone of political ads that take aim at an opponent's record can be a matter of degree. One of Dotterrer's ads features a little girl saying that "Alan Bates deserves an 'F'" for failing to support education reform. Some observers have found that ad off-putting, and we don't blame them. Some local voters also object to a push poll, in which pollsters have called voters and asked leading questions about Bates in an attempt to discourage them from voting for him. It's unclear who is behind that poll, and Dotterrer claims no knowledge of it. That's the drawback of independent money being spent on a race that could tip the balance of power in the Senate. If those behind the poll had to disclose their role and the source of their funding, voters would be better able to judge their motivation. Bates' supporters are accusing Dotterrer of going back on his pledge not to engage in negative campaigning. So far, it doesn't appear that the race has turned especially nasty. But there is more than a month left in the campaign. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141001/OPINION/141009988 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->