For Silverman, Issues Consultants Become an Issue in Themselves

Former council member Isiah Leggett says he's girding for a tough campaign to win the Democratic nomination for county executive now that his opponent, council member Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large), has hired several national political consultants.

Last week, Silverman announced he had hired several of the architects of Virginia Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine's (D) successful campaign. Silverman's direct-mail operation will be headed by Chris Cooper and Geoff Mackler , who work for District-based MSHC Partners Inc. The company is headed by Hal Malchow , who along with Cooper handled Kaine's direct mail. Malchow also headed President Clinton's direct-mail effort in 1996. Karl Struble and David Eichenbaum , who were both top Kaine aides, will be heading Silverman's media advertising strategy.

Leggett said he expects a campaign similar to the one County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) ran in 2002, in which his opponents on the County Council were unseated.

Duncan, with Silverman as a close ally, poured several hundred thousand dollars into an "End Gridlock" slate of candidates who supported several transportation projects, including the planned intercounty connector.

The candidates bombarded voters with recorded telephone calls and negative mail targeting Democratic council members Blair G. Ewing (D-At Large) and Phil Andrews (D-Rockville). Ewing, who decried the campaign as unfair, lost his seat.

"We may have turned a negative corner at that point -- from a campaign of issues and substance to one of pure politics," Leggett said.

Silverman, who helped Duncan organize the "End Gridlock" campaign, countered that it is absurd for Leggett to imply that hiring national consultants means the campaign will resort to negative tactics. Silverman noted that previous candidates for Montgomery County executive aired television ads and hired pollsters.

As it turns out, MSHC Partners was also the company Duncan and the "End Gridlock" slate used in 2002, according to Silverman.

"It is reasonable to predict we will see the same below-the-belt tactics used again in the county races next year," said Andrews, who is supporting Leggett.

As for the consulting firm Silverman chose to handle television advertising, its work for Kaine was generally praised as more positive than the campaign of his Republican opponent, former Virginia attorney general Jerry W. Kilgore.

Earlier this year, Struble Eichenbaum Communications produced a controversial ad for the National Abortion Rights Action League. The ad said U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sided with extremists, including a convicted bomber of abortion clinics. It was quickly pulled following outrage from Republicans and Democrats alike.

But Silverman said his consultants' past efforts should not be viewed as an indicator of the kind of race he plans.