A Springfield group formed to advance voter rights called a press conference Tuesday to publicly denounce a political attack ad involving the school board.
The ad paid for by the opaque Truth In Politics group supports candidates Kelly Byrne and Steve Makoski and makes false claims against incumbent Charles Taylor.
Former Springfield mayor Bob Stephens, vice president of Vote417, called on developer Curtis Jared — who leads the Truth In Politics group — to remove the 30-second ad that started running March 21 on KY3.
Stephens called on Byrne and Makoski to "condemn and repudiate" the ad, which is expected to air until the April 5 election.
The group paid nearly $30,000 for the KY3 spots but does not disclosure how it raised the money.
"No one should want to win so badly that they resort to these tactics. The ad is not where Springfield needs to be on a political level," Stephens said. "It is not a good look for any campaign but especially a local race, where we all have to live together and work together and try to solve problems together."
Stephens said the ad takes several "ultra-conservative dog whistles" — such as critical race theory — and "puts them into one ad to appeal to a small group of bottom-dwellers."
He accused the group of "fear-mongering."
The News-Leader reached out to Jared, Byrne and Makoski. None responded by press time Tuesday.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, the Truth In Politics group said it stands by its ad and "will not back down to those...
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