Nuclear fallout

The Dispatch runs a page one follow up on the East Moline mayoral race.

Some nuggets...

Thodos apparently wasn't just running for mayor, he was on a mission from God.

"This was one of those things I prayed about. It was something I was compelled to do. I feel it was one of those things (the Lord) wanted me to do. I think it was a whole bunch of things all converging at this place in time."
(Wonder what other things God gave him advice on?)

As to funding, Morenos' camp said Thodos spent $35,000 on the campaign, Thodos says it was about half that. For his part, "Mayor Moreno said he couldn't afford billboards or mailings. His fliers were distributed by volunteers. He estimates he spent about a fifth of what Mr. Thodos spent."

Heiland felt that it wasn't just the outspending, that the win was due to, "... a lot of voters who haven't voted for years. They came out and voted."

John Gianulis addressed the economic issues. "There was a very competitive race in East Moline for mayor. With the difficult situation we've had with the closing of the Case plant in East Moline and some of the adversities, the incumbant had to bear the brunt of that."

The Photo

"Thodos said he chose not to use the photo in a smear campaign. 'I have had people say "Use this". I will not use it. To me, it was no option.'

Helen Heiland, Thodos' campaign manager, denies sending it out. 'We stayed on the up and up. John stayed on the issues. He didn't trash people.'"

"Moreno said he ran a campaign that was "too clean" by failing to mention Thodos' voting record as alderman." (!)

Moreno says that he's heartbroken, but doesn't want to get too down, "...because I trust that the mayor-elect will do the best that he can. If the team stays intact, it's like a relay race. I'm handing the baton off to (mayor-elect) John (Thodos). We're on the same team."

The best part of public service is the satisfaction of doing good things in your community", Moreno said, " The worst part is the campaign."

And so far, only denial from the Thodos camp. No condemnation of the pictures and what was done with them from anyone.

The entire article is at Quad Cities Online. Some content available free. Others require registration. Registration is free to subscribers to QC Online or The Dispatch/Argus papers, others must pay.