BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It's that very scary time of year.
Frightening creatures walk the Earth, stalking souls to win over and control. Threats are made. Grown men and women howl and screech as they battle one another. Images of terror fill TV screens. Don't let the kids watch.
Halloween? Nope. It's five days from the election, and the candidates continue to bang on doors and rant at one another in campaign ads and literature.
Sounds like . . .
The National Rifle Association shot and missed with a radio ad now playing that touts the candidacy of 4th District Republican congressional candidate Gex "Jay" Williams.
And maybe NRA President and spokesman Charlton Heston, whom we all know from his movie gig as Moses, should practice an 11th Commandment: Thou shall not mispronounce the name of the candidate he's hawking. In the ad, Mr. Heston pronounces "Gex" as though it rhymes with "checks."
In trying to explain the glaring screw-up in the ad, the Williams' campaign at first let on as if it knew about the mistake prior to the airing of the ad. That, however, would mean the NRA coordinated the ad with the Williams campaign, and those so-called coordinated expenditures are illegal under federal election laws.
"We don't know why or how it happened," said Craig Hendricks, Mr. Williams' campaign manager. "I'm sure it was an honest mistake. What's important here is not the way they say Gex's name, but that the NRA supports Gex Williams in this race."
The Williams' camp wasn't as forgiving when the campaign of its Democratic opponent, Ken Lucas, mispronounced Mr. Williams' name in a series of radio ads.
The Lucas spots say "Gex" as though it rhymes with "sex." The Williams campaign said the ads were demeaning and derogatory. The Lucas camp chuckled, winked and nodded and then said its research found that people know Mr. Williams as Gex as in sex, not Gex as in "Jay."
"These ads are mass-produced in a Washington, D.C., factory," said John Lapp, Mr. Lucas' campaign manager. "This just goes to prove what we've been saying all along -- Charlton Heston doesn't know Gex Williams from a load of coal."
Said Mr. Hendricks: "There's a big difference. The Lucas people know better."
Big question
"That's between me and my God."
A query about abortion? Capital punishment? Sending American troops into battle? His religious beliefs?
Hardly. Mr. Lucas was asked whether he voted for Bill Clinton in 1996.
Not exactly the proudest Democrat on the face of the Earth.
Here we go again
Steve Guidugli, candidate for Bellevue mayor, is a true seer.
A couple of weeks ago, he predicted the city would announce construction of a $40 million riverfront restaurant and office development even though the entire deal is contingent on a $1 million federal grant the city hasn't even received.
Mr. Guidugli turned prophet because of the track record of his opponent, incumbent Mayor Tom Wiethorn.
Four years ago, when Mr. Wiethorn was running for the Kentucky Statehouse, he leaked news that Marriott was going to build a hotel on the Bellevue riverfront. The leak came just days before the election, which he lost to Fort Thomas Republican Katie Stine.
"I'm not saying politics is motivating anything this time, but it sure looks that way," Mr. Guidugli said. "We should at least wait until we have the money before we announce these things."
The mystery Republican:
A couple of years ago, there was a big rumor that a Kenton County Democratic official was going to jump ship and switch to the Republicans.
Most fingers pointed to Kenton County Commissioner Steve Arlinghaus, who denied it then and denies it now.
"It wasn't me," Mr. Arlinghaus said this week. "I wasn't the guy."
Yes, he was, according to Fort Mitchell lawyer Rick Robinson, who at the time was 4th District Republican chairman.
"I'm telling you right now it was him," Mr. Robinson said. "I had a press conference scheduled, and local and state party officials were going to attend."
Mr. Robinson said he rolled on Mr. Arlinghaus because of comments the commissioner has made about former Republican Kenton County Judge-executive Clyde Middleton, who pleaded guilty this week to a misdemeanor charge in relation to a bidding scandal involving a new courthouse.
"I think of the way he has used Clyde Middleton's situation for his own political gain, I see him generating stories for the newspapers and giving quotes to reporters, and I just couldn't stand by and not say anything," Mr. Robinson said.
Mr. Arlinghaus, running for re-election against Villa Hills Republican Adam Koenig, said it is Mr. Robinson and Mr. Middleton's allies who are playing politics.
"I've said from the start Clyde Middleton was wrong and he should have admitted his guilt, but because he didn't, he caused the taxpayers thousands of dollars in lawsuits and investigations and everything else," Mr. Arlinghaus said.
Mr. Arlinghaus said two Middleton supporters -- former GOP state lawmakers Lawson Walker and Ken Harper -- sent out a letter that said "nasty" things about him.
"These are just personal attacks from Clyde's friends because I'm leading in this race and I'm going to win," a defiant Mr. Arlinghaus said.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort.
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