The River City Fraternal Order of Police has taken to the offensive in the hopes of getting Republican Mayoral candidate Kelly Downard into the Mayors office come January.
The organization produced a 30 second commercial, titled "The Truth" that implies under Mayor Abramson's leadership the city is a more dangerous place to live with fewer officers and fewer resources to combat the crime problem.
The mayor refuted the accusations of the commercial by stating there are 100 more officers on the street, a communications system that's improving and cited Louisville's ranking as one of the 10 safest big cities in America according to a survey compiled by Morgan Quinto Press, an independent private research and publishing company. In contrast to that report the FBI Crime Rate database lists Louisville's crime level as "Worse" than the national average of other cities of similar size.
Abramson's claims were further defended by a Courier-Journal editorial titled "Scaring up votes" that bashed the FOP for using scare tactics to persuade voters to vote for Kelly Downard. This staunch defense of Abramson is hardly credible when considering the Courier-Journal's liberal ideology and longtime steadfast support of the Abramson administration. (View the CJ Editorial)
So what is the truth? The truth is actually a gray area and comes down to what you the individual believe are the most important issues.The truth is that Abramson is a dynamic and intelligent politician who focuses his priorities on developing and revitalizing the downtown Louisville area and economic growth. He is masterful at controlling the media and the public's perception and has always enjoyed public approval ratings that would make make Ronald Reagan envious.That being said, Abramson, like all people has a few shortcomings. In order to pay for new arenas, offer corporate tax-breaks and continuously finance a flurry a revitalization projects, other services have to take a back seat. Unfortunately for public safety personnel, they are the chosen to ride in the back. This makes the most sense to Abramson because public safety eats up the majority of any budget and therefore makes it easier to manipulate the numbers and strategically reallocate funds and resources without making it appear that you are doing just that. Abramson has done this and that is why your rank and file police, fire and E.M.S workers so staunchly and vocally oppose the Abramson administration.
"The Truth" Click To Watch Video
On election day your decision will hinge on what you view as the more prominent issue. Has crime gotten out of control? Have we as a community placed too much emphasis on urban infrastructure and development at the expense of public safety? ..or.. Are we headed in the right direction by promoting strong Economic growth and revitalizing our infrastructure?
The choice is not easy because in reality you want the best of both worlds. Public safety employees of Louisville can only hope that Abramson will acknowledge these shortcomings and utilize his talents to find a creative and balanced solution.