Tanaka Vercher separates herself from Mayor Dean over accomplishments she did not earn

The mailer in question.

Council incumbent Duane Dominy's allegations that his opponent Tanaka Vercher and Mayor Karl Dean are taking credit for District 28 improvements have gained traction with a television news station analyzing some tapes of community meetings and observing Vercher and Dean no where to be found:

Channel 4 was able to obtain video of the very first city meeting about the need for a stop sign at Apollo and Manattee.

We were also able to view the last parking commission meeting where the stop sign was approved.

There was no sign of the Dean or Vercher, but there was plenty of Duane Dominy.

Antioch daycare owner Fran Bush has been fighting for that stop sign for 10 years and she says the mayor and his candidate had nothing to do with it.

"I was sick to my stomach to see the flyers," she said. "It's not right to steal someone's ideas and give them to someone that has not worked at all."

When reached by Channel 4, Vercher said it's the mayor's take. She said she wants to continue the process and is not taking credit for those achievements.

Vercher's response would have been more credible if she had publicly distanced herself before the media confronted her with the facts. It is also noteworthy that the photo that appears on the mailer appeared beforehand on Ms. Vercher's Facebook image gallery. This dubious ad buy looks like collaboration to me, but even if it is not, Mayor Dean appears to be exaggerating Vercher's impact on community QOL as well as his own. Will Vercher denounce the Mayor more vigorously for pulling her into a lie?

We should not ignore the fact that another Antioch challenger for Metro Council, Page Turner, publicly embraced Re-elect Dean's falsified fliers 3 days ago even though there is no evidence that she was responsible for the sign installation project at Apollo Drive and Barclay Square Drive to calm traffic:

Turner takes credit.

That statement about change coming with a Turner election is misleading. Outside the Fairgrounds issue, the Mayor has his way with the council without any resistance. One more Dean pocket-vote does not even remotely resemble change. It is pretty clear to me that these challengers have cast their lot with Dean. That does not bode well for constituents who are not always going to go along with the Mayor. The last thing the council needs is more Dean drones to give the Mayor's Office everything it desires.