Elections - Subtle Falsehoods and Outright Lies

Elections; Subtle Falsehoods & Lies

As Election Day draws near, swing voters will need to determine who is telling the most “subtle falsehoods or the most outright lies.” I’ll use an election in March, 2003 in which I unsuccessfully ran for the Presidency of the Peoria Park District. Here are excerpts from quotes from Gary Martin of Martin-Fager Communications on 2/22/03:
“The Park District takes a minute percentage of local property taxes”. Fact- the Peoria Park District collected $11,786,827.00 in property taxes last year!! Hardly minute!!
“While Widmer has served on the Peoria County Board, its taxes have increased by 25 percent. Curious, isn’t it?” Fact –“Peoria County lowered their 2002 tax rate compared with the year before, while other taxing districts, including the Peoria Park District raised their rates.”(Jennifer Davis, Peoria Journal Star reporter)
“In fact, the Riverplex is far ahead of projection” Quote from Gary Martin on 2/22/2003.
Fact: Riverplex Financial update (9/18/2002) from the Peoria Park District showed the Riverplex lost $1,187,845.00 for the period ending 2001 actual not including scholarships!!
Fact: The Riverplex is losing between $6,000.00 to $$7,000.00 a day according to the 12/31/03 Park Financial report and is rumored to be losing even more this year.
On 11/16/01, Reporter Jennifer Davis wrote that Merle Widmer voted against the Peoria County 2002 budget which did include a .07 percent property tax rate hike.
On 4/2/02, reporter Jennifer Davis quoted Peoria County Administrator Pat Urich as saying “the lion’s share of what we spend is under the control of bodies that are outside our control. (Sheriff, Recorder of Deeds, Circuit Clerk, Treasurer, ect.) I control only 37 percent of the total budget.” That is correct.
Fact: When I was elected to the County Board in 2000, the County had gone through 5 administrators in 8 years. (Reporter Jennifer Davis, JS, 11/24s/02.
Fact: Patrick Urich was selected as County Administrator at approximately the same time I was elected to the Board. Under Mr. Urich’s leadership and the County Board’s direction, we have chosen to have a “financially solvent” county government as our top goal. We are succeeding.
Fact: At no point did I vote for any tax raise and it is not my intention to be voting for any property tax rate raise as long as I remain on the Peoria County Board.

Now back to Gary Martin. Why did he successfully assassinate me with Letter to the Editor in both the Journal Star signed just “Gary Martin” and a letter to the Observer where the Editor at least printed the name of the company who he represented? Keep reading and you be the judge.



Martin-Fager is the major supplier of communication equipment to the Peoria Park District. Martin-Fager Communications was paid $15,546.12 by “Friends of Tim Cassidy” to handle the promotion of the incumbent Park Board President, Tim Cassidy, in the 2003 election. Mr. Cassidy was reelected and “rumor” has it that Martin-Fager is still the major supplier of communication services to the Peoria Park District.

Log on to this site to learn the “stories behind the stories.”

I leave you with this thought. “A big lie is more plausible than the truth. People tend to believe that.”