When an underfunded challenger candidate attempts to gain election, there is an often followed pattern. Create Drama and Controversy and then claim to be the person to fix the problems.

Typically such an approach is filled with several false claims and an overall approach that is misleading at best. When you add in Holly Andreatta’s personality and overall approach to life – you have the complete package for a Jerry Springer – approved candidate for office. Her opponent, Shanti Landon is the exact opposite – my observations have always been Shanti is too nice and sometimes too forthright. Given the ferocity of this challenge to her re-election, her political opponents clearly misread her agreeable personality as weakness.

Then the lies started piling up, leading to this mailer sent by Holly’s official campaign. The mailer itself does look good, but fails to stand up to scrutiny.

So the strategy is clear – pit the City of Lincoln against the County of Placer. This also means she is underfunded and is having to focus her meager resources on Lincoln only, leaving out a significant chunk of the voters in the district.

Let’s go through the bullets:

Lincoln Pays More and Gets Less – this claim is false, but is often made (by fill in the name of candidate here) then backed up using incomplete data. The second half of the claim shows everyone with common sense that Holly has picked several fights with the County of Placer over non-existent problems, most likely to create a campaign platform. Again, a common strategy.

Protecting Public Safety – the City of Lincoln is facing having to put a massive tax increase on the ballot in November to avoid staffing cuts! (Such as the 9 new firefighters she is bragging about) In the meantime, her opponent has a laundry list of things she has accomplished to advance public safety over the last 4 years. This bullet was put in as a response to one of her opponent’s primary strengths, again a common strategy for do-it-yourself candidates without professional advice. It is usually not a good idea to lead in to your opponent’s strengths – including how Landon is endorsed by Fire Chiefs, Firefighter’s Associations, The Sheriff, the DA, Police, Sheriff’s Deputies, etc etc etc.

Transparency. Yawn, yet another common bullet point of a provocateur. The mailer offers nothing specific about said bullet.

Then there is the time tested use the fire truck or law enforcement uniform to imply support trick. That is a nice touch to complete the package of falsehoods across the top.

She then lists two fellow councilmember endorsements – probably the best part of her mailer – until you realize that 3 of the 4 votes needed to put the massive Lincoln Tax Increase Measure on the ballot are represented here in this mailer. Ouch.

It is going to be a 1 Cent Sales Tax Increase. 8.75% Sales Tax in Lincoln folks.

The front side of the mailer is going to haunt Holly Anreatta for years to come.

“Fix Unfair Taxes” – like the upcoming 1 cent sales tax increase? Do note that a Supervisor can’t fix most taxes, perhaps she should talk to Senator Roger Niello or Assemblyman Joe Patterson about that. But the part that will follow her is the declaration of war on Placer County.

I hate to break the news to Ms. Andreatta – but people like living in Placer County, calling it unfair and saying Lincoln deserves better than a place people like living in may not be the best message to present!

“Backed by Lincoln Firefighters” – this is deceptive and is mostly false. This is a common trick of an underfunded challenger candidate, get a few individuals and then use that to imply broad support. Usually these sorts of tricks elicit a response. It will be interesting to see what the Firefighters Local does.

All this said, when Andreatta loses in June she will have added the Firefighters Local and pretty much everyone at the Placer County Level to the list of people that don’t like her very much.

When you are addicted to drama and your entire campaign has become uber-personal, your judgement is impaired. Some regular voters will not recognize what’s wrong with this mailer (which is why she did it), but the leaders of the community have and will. This mailer will follow Holly for the rest of the time she is in the public eye – beyond her abhorrent personal behavior exhibited over the last year. (More on that later)

Proverbs 14:12:

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

To be continued…