Gaffney Responds to McSweeney's Negative Ad

Acting true to form, politician David McSweeney is now resorting to negative attacks ads in his desperate attempt to save his failing campaign.

State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) slammed McSweeney for going negative and running blatantly false campaign ads. Gaffney issued the following statement:

“I have run a positive, issue-based campaign to inform voters of my budget expertise, my common-sense solutions for our state, and my endorsements by 50 local Republican leaders, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce PAC and the National Rifle Association.

“My opponent David McSweeney is the first candidate in this race to go negative. He’s running a blatantly false ad against me that outrageously attempts to link me to Pat Quinn and higher taxes. There are so many outright lies in McSweeney’s ad that I’m not sure even where to start.

“As the budget director for the House Republicans, I opposed the Blagojevich/Quinn borrowing and spending sprees that led to the state’s fiscal crisis. Last year, the Illinois House approved a revenue/spending estimate that was $2 billion below what Governor Quinn wanted to spend. And I worked to block Quinn’s borrowing plan that would have piled more debt onto taxpayers.

“Just last week, I voted against the FY13 revenue estimate because it was $500 million more than last year. I broke with House leadership and was one of only a handful of Republicans to vote against the higher revenue estimate. David McSweeney must have been too busy with his negative campaign to notice my vote against more spending.

“On taxes, I opposed the Democrats’ 67 percent income tax hike and worked to unite Republican legislators against it. I’m the chief sponsor of legislation to repeal the tax increase. There’s only one candidate in this race who has voted to raise taxes and his name is David McSweeney.

“I urge the voters of the 52nd District to reject David McSweeney’s false, negative attacks. I call on the media to carefully examine McSweeney’s claims, his long history of negative campaigns, and both of our records on the issues of taxes and spending. I am the only candidate in this race with the experience and proven track record to clean up the mess in Springfield.”

Source: Nick McNeely, Kent Gaffney campaign office

Contact: Kent Gaffney, 847-387-8193