Selvig Goes Negative in District 9 City Council Race

The first negative mailing of the Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor campaign arrived in the mail today.

Challenger Alex Selvig's mailing is charging that incumbent Councilor Mark Ciommo hasn't accomplished anything during his last two years in office. One side of the mailing reads:

Two years ago, we sent him to City Hall.

He promised he'd work for Allston-Brighton.

Two years later, what did we get from Mark Ciommo: NOTHING DONE.

Accompanied by an unflattering image of Ciommo, natch.

Since there are plenty of days until the election, there's plenty of time for Ciommo to respond with his own negative mailing. If he decides to go that route. Stay tuned.

Selvig appears to have tipped his hand in advance of Tuesday's candidates debate; Ciommo now has a few days to prepare his defense. I have a feeling that we will see some, er, lively back-and-forth on Tuesday.

And the Award for Best Visual Impact in a Campaign Mailing Goes To...

It's always difficult to make a campaign mailing stick out visually so that the recipient doesn't just toss it into the trash.

This year Alex Selvig, candidate for Allston-Brighton District 9 City Councilor, managed to create a mailing with high visual impact.

And yuck factor.

That ubiquitous Allston-Brighton neighbor known as Rattus norvegicus -- or its common name, the Norway Rat -- appeared on one side of Selvig's mailing.

On the other side, he listed a few ideas he has for combating the rat problem: only issue building permits after a building is certified as rat-free; holding contractors responsible for rodent control; increasing the number of inspectors (currently seven); and inform residents about what they can do.

Selvig sort-of just accomplished that last one on his own.

No other candidate to date came close to Selvig in creating a visually effective mailing. This Award for Best Visual Impact in a Campaign Mailing was an easy one to pick.

But I'm not sure what residents thought when they found out that Selvig put a rat in their mailbox... I've got one more idea: glue some rat bait to the mailing next time.