Monday, February 27, 2012

PA State Senator Larry Farnese Clarifies Campaign Separate from Office

On Saturday, I wrote a post complaining that I had gotten a robocall on my cell phone asking if I was planning to vote for Senator Farnese 5 minutes after I had requested a form from his office. I have learned to be skeptical of coincidences from Mark Harmon's character on NCIS. Special Agent Gibbs is fond of saying, "I don't believe in coincidences."

On Monday, I chatted with Cameron Kline, Farnese's director of communication, and Tony Mannino, his Chief of Staff. They assured me that they are vigilant about keeping the campaign separate from constituent services.

Kline wrote in his initial email, "After reading your post I became concerned too because we in the District Office pride ourselves in ensuring that Senate resources, like constituent information, are not shared with any campaign." 

Mannino said, "Farnese's campaign was conducting a poll of voters at the time that I made contact."

 Mannino explained that the campaign could never have instituted a call to the office that quickly. Knowing how bureaucracies work, I believe him.

"The numbers have to be gathered, then put into a computer and then the calls made. That could never have happened in five minutes," said Mannino.

I flat out asked them if they would forward the name of a constituent that demanded a lot of services to the campaign. Kline and Mannino empathically said, "No."

I applaud Farnese's staff for responding so quickly. Politicians should be concerned if their office staffs are sharing information with their campaigns. I accept the timing of the robocall as a weird occurrence. In deference to Agent Gibbs, I will not use the word coincidence.

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