You can easily see how fearful a politician like Cecil Clarke is of losing when they start getting dirty just two weeks before a vote. On October 26th and 27th, PC members come together to choose their next leader.

At the final leadership debate in Truro, all candidates were supportive of the idea of party unity. Then this morning, someone suspended all remaining fragments of good judgement and the mudslinging began.

Granted, resorting to an American-style attack campaign is apparently well within Clarke's campaign manager's playbook - though it's up to Clarke himself to approve. Chad Bowie considers campaigning a "dogfight", and says he won't "sugar-coat" when it comes to "telling the candidates they are losing." [Source]

Which version of Clarke do you believe represents the real man?

Many of you will be familiar with the biblical passage "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

Cecil has declared that he's for "positive change", but his tactics often reveal him as essentially a false prophet. He's been called out for questionable behaviour before.

For example, the mayor has repeatedly exercised what he calls his prerogative to:

• keep as much CBRM business in secret (in-camera) meetings as possible,
• hide reports from Council,
• keep Council in the dark on key projects/negotiations,
• overtly attack outstanding, progressive councillors like Amanda McDougall,
• reward an inner circle of compliant councillors with overextended port board positions,
• appoint his preferred executives into high paid roles,
• make "political" hires for himself without a job competition (Lamey/Bettens),
• make an aggressive and successful attempt to oust a CAO (Jerry Ryan) and Economic Development executive (John Whalley) [as per the John Whalley v CBRM lawsuit],
• pull the CBRM out of an economic development agency (REN) before Council approved it [and thereby losing provincial funding],
• sign deals with corporations before Council knew about them, and
• ignore the public outrage at the sale of Archibald's Wharf and push it through despite the protests. 

That's just a quick list.

But, today, Clarke once again used the worst of his American-style political attack methods. In my opinion, his most recent dirty trick truly exposes the real Cecil Clarke. It reveals how he thinks that we, the citizens, are pawns to be manipulated for our votes.

Here's what happened...

Clarke and his team took snapshots of a random conversation from one of his longtime CBRM critics on Facebook and emailed it to all of his campaign followers.

The Facebook comments were critical of Clarke as Mayor of the CBRM.

The comments were blunt. The person who made them was upset. And, being known for "wearing his heart on his sleeve", he didn't mince any words.

Despite the individual being a critic since the sale of Archibald's Wharf early in Clarke's first term as CBRM mayor, Clarke made the false claim that the comments were a campaign tactic by PC-leadership candidate Tim Houston.

Clarke knows better but sent the deceptive email anyway. Scraping up a few votes like loose change out of somebody else's sofa is more important than telling the truth at this stage of the game?

Here is a short snippet of what was in Clarke’s email to his supporters (I’ve purposely blurred the name and harsh language):

The conversation was clearly was not something initiated by the Tim Houston campaign or any other campaign.

I have closely followed the PC leadership race and I follow the people who were in the Facebook conversation. It's obvious that it's a critique of Clarke by someone who has consistently done so throughout his time as mayor… just like the thousands of other disapproving comments that frequently appear about Clarke and what his CBRM critics regard as shady aspects of his political career.

Clarke simply grabbed an upset comment from a critic and devised a manipulative email to deceive voters in the final days of the PC leadership race. 

That's certainly not the behaviour of any candidate who believes they are the frontrunner and have things locked up.

This is a hail mary pass, after a last-ditch attempt to hit low enough to injure the other team's star quarterback instead of scoring a touchdown by teamwork, perseverance, superior sportsmanship, and skill.

In his email, Clarke also included this disparaging comment about the people of Cape Breton who he represents:

It's clear that the Clarke campaign is acting in desperation. A leading candidate would never have done something like this.

By contrast, Tim Houston was quick to disavow the allegation made by Clarke, sending the following email to PC supporters (only a few snippets are shown here):

For those of us who pay close attention, this doesn't come as a much of a surprise.  But to some of you, this may be one of the first few times you've seen the real Cecil Clarke so blatantly reveal himself for what he is and how he operates.

“... I’m not taking cheap shots from the cheap seats, and I hope you will be with me in the game for success.” - Mayor Cecil Clarke

His words don't match his behaviour, because he was definitely taking cheap shots from the cheap seats today.

He's a false prophet with a campaign manager who is willing to go to an American-style political playbook with Clarke's approval.

While Clarke's email delivers with it the stench of desperation, Houston's composed response to the dirt-slinging clearly demonstrates how a real leader communicates and why he's the frontrunner.

Every other candidate - with the exception of the smart, poised, and truly positive Julie Chaisson - is calling for unity and then tripping over one another to go low while targeting Houston. 

If it's not clear why many people in Cape Breton and the CBRM shudder at the thought of Clarke becoming Premier, here's a quick introduction. Sometimes the truth hurts a little:

NOTE: The views expressed above are my own and do not represent lokol (goCapeBreton.com). Read more