Malloy’s Response to Rival’s Charges: Let Her Take Responsibility

Citing a need for personal responsibility and accountability among political aspirants, Congressional candidate Clyde Malloy has broken his silence to answer attacks from his primary opponent Faye Armitage. The two candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination in Congressional District 7.

“One of the major failings of our society is the lack of accountability and personal responsibility,” Malloy said.

“As candidates for Congress, we must understand that the voters cannot expect us to conscientiously attack the problems of government if they cannot hold us accountable for our own actions.”

Armitage’s recent behavior has fallen short of the standards voters should expect from their elected officials. Rather than try to promote her positions and run a clean campaign, she has played the victim, blaming others rather than taking responsibility for her own shortcomings.

In recent weeks, Armitage has:

• Falsely accused members of Malloy’s staff of making personal attacks against her.
• Discredited herself on a local conservative radio talk show and blamed the Malloy camp and the media for her shortcomings. She failed to prepare for her appearance and was combative and condescending toward the host and callers. Faced with her disastrous performance, she accused others of treating her unfairly.
• Blamed the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections for her failure to turn in her petitions in time. She was late because she planned poorly and even delivered some petitions to the wrong locations. Instead of owning up to her mistakes, she argued with SOE officials, insisting that the time on her cell phone – rather than the clock in the SOE’s office – was correct. In short, she tried to blame officials who were following the rules and doing their jobs, claiming she was victimized by the mean ol’ Republican SOE.
• Circulated lies, half-truths and distortions about Malloy and his staff in e-mail newsletters and on the internet.

“It appears that my primary opponent cannot handle the rigors of a Congressional primary campaign without lashing out and claiming to be victimized,” Malloy said.

“The constituents of the Seventh District have cause to doubt her ability to handle the responsibilities of Congress.”

Malloy, a former public safety officer, cited his experience as evidence of his dedication to serving the public.

“No other candidate in this race can demonstrate that level of commitment to their community,” he said.

“While I was risking my life to protect lives and property, my primary opponent was making six figures working in an HMO denying health care to families like yours.

“The best guide to the future is the past. Our records speak for themselves. I invite you to examine mine. Can my opponent say the same?”