The question at Lakewood United early Thursday morning, July 31, was whether the four candidates represented at the platform, and wanting to represent you in the State Legislature, would use negative campaigning – ‘hit pieces’ – reflecting poorly on their opponent rather than run a race based on their own merits.
Dick Muri, Mary Moss, Paul Wagemann and Monique Trudnowski all replied that no, indeed they would not.
Paul WagemannIf you haven’t voted yet perhaps, like me, you were hit, or struck, or otherwise then surprised when you received Trudnowski’s latest piece in your mailbox today.
Trudnowski questions in that flyer whether you would “roll the dice” with Wagemann given his heretofore unsuccessful bids for office.
Using her ‘never-won-never-will’ criteria, Trudnowski has inadvertently placed Wagemann in the rarefied air, the hall of fame, with the likes of Steven Spielberg, rejected three times by the University of California after which he dropped out to become a director; Col. Sanders who was turned away 1,009 times when he tried selling his fried chicken recipe; Sylvester Stallone who 1,500 times was told ‘no way, no how, not ever’ to his script for ‘Rocky’; and of course we might still be using kerosene lamps had Thomas Edison given up on the light bulb before his 10,000 try.
But Trudnowski is proud to have never run for anything.
Trudnowski and Wagemann are not in the same ballpark. They’re not even in the same league.
The best measure, bar none – no how, no way, not ever a better guarantee – of what you can expect from anyone who has or ever will accomplish anything of magnitude, whether it’s commitment to a single married partner for life; or raising children who are themselves also positive contributors to society; or making life better for all around them via the light bulb or the legislature is this: where they have been day in and day out because that is what you can expect tomorrow and the day after that.
A rags-to-riches story is good for a chapter or two. A life-time of wise choices, however, and 50,000 doors and counting and however many pairs of replaced worn-out shoes in the effort, year after year, is the surest sign, the most important characteristic, the demonstrated work ethic upon which everything in life depends and Wagemann is all of that.
The late Sen. Mike Carrell once told me “You must have character before you get to Olympia because you won’t be developing it when you arrive.”
With Trudnowski there are questions.
With Wagemann, all the questions have been answered.
