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Candidates reject negative ads Ashland mayoral hopefuls distance themselves from newspaper attack campaign By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Two opponents in the mayoral race are each defending their reputations in the fallout of a recent series of "negative" newspaper ads. Alan DeBoer and Carole Wheeldon have each condemned the three ads placed in the Ashland Daily Tidings last week by the Campaign for School Tolerance. The group, which challenged DeBoer�s record on the school board, was tenuously linked to Wheeldon�s campaign. "It�s unfortunate," DeBoer said. "We had a real nice race going on with five people talking about their issues." The ads, he said, have "put a shadow over the whole election." Wheeldon said she had no knowledge of the ads prior to their publication. She�s working to distance herself from Paul Copeland, one of the group�s directors who gave $250 to her campaign. "I am saddened and angry that Paul Copeland is using the mayor�s race to promote his personal vendetta and the agenda of a fringe group," Wheeldon said. The city councilwoman said she is "appalled that (Copeland) would run ads fraught with inaccuracies" and has asked him to withdraw the ads. She is also returning Copeland�s check "to thoroughly disassociate myself from him and his tactics." "I trust that the members of this community recognize my commitment to the integrity of government," Wheeldon said. "I can see from Paul�s actions he is not a supporter of mine." Copeland is planning a meeting at 9 a.m. today at the Plaza to defend the ads. "I think I�ll go," DeBoer said. "I�ve never been one to shirk problems." The ads, which first appeared Wednesday, allege DeBoer has tried to limit public involvement at board meetings and supports a substance abuse policy that "selectively targets the most vulnerable kids for the harshest treatment." A third ad says the Ashland High School dropout rate "has soared" during DeBoer�s service on the school board, a claim school officials say is false. Tess Razzano, registrar at Ashland High, says the estimated four-year dropout rate quoted in the ads is a synthetic statistic that is not based on an actual class of students. The ad cites a 25 percent four-year dropout rate for entering freshmen in 1996-97, a statistic calculated by multiplying a single year�s dropout rate by four. Razzano said the high school�s actual dropout rate was 7.2 percent in 1996-97 and has gone down the past three years. In 1998-99, the most recent data available, the rate was 5.42 percent, Razzano said. "Not only are we declining every year, but we�ve been lower than the state average," she said. "We have no reason to hang our heads and everything to be proud about." As well as the content of the ads, DeBoer is concerned about their timing, which fell just days before ballots were mailed. Mayor Cathy Shaw, who keeps daily tabs on vote-by-mail ballot returns, said the timing may not be as last-minute as it seems. When mail-in ballots were first introduced, Shaw said, the majority of voters returned their ballots right away. That�s not the case anymore, she says. "It�s just completely flip-flopped," she said. "People are now used to voting by mail and just like when you get your MasterCard bill ... you set it aside." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.