Public Relations Suicide… What Was Team Bellone Thinking?
John Jay LaValle, Suffolk County’s Republican top dog came out with a press release a week or so backcalling County Executive out. Hardly news, nothing new – like the Hatfield and McCoys, the fighting is predictable and ongoing. The only thing reliable about Suffolk Politics will be the bi-partisan disagreements on a host of issues.
However, LaValle wagged his judgmental finger for a good reason and retired police officers and Republican legislatures Tom Muratore and Rob Trotta chimed in with their own criticism.
They say in a recent paid advertisement Bellone, who is up re-election in the fall used the name, image, NYPD logo and recent death of NYPD Office Detective Brian Moore for political gain. There isn’t a ad man (or woman) or public relations person around the country that wouldn’t cringe at this lack of judgement.
Republicans are calling it a classic bait and switch. In his aforementioned ad Bellone directs Facebook uses to keep Moore and his family in their prayers. Quite noble; it’s not uncommon for elected to ask for such when such a heinous act of crime such as the shooting or assassination of a cop occurs. However, it leads people to Belone’s Political Campaign Facebook page. As the election season encroches, new and somewhat naïve follows will receive rhetoric encouraging Bellones re-election.
What makes matters worse, claims LaValle is that prior to his family laying him to rest, Bellone began running ad. Bad Judgment, you better believe it. Political Suicide, only time will tell. People have short memories in this 24/7 news cycles we all dwell in. Does Bellone care about the safety of cops, he’s a decent man, of course he does, most respectable human beings do. Did he attend the funeral of the LI cop, yes he did, it’s quite common to do so even though Detective Moore was with the NYPD. Were his words of comfort to his family genuine….yes they probably were straight from the heart.
However, what Bellone and his advisers did was completely unacceptable, it a very bad move, it may or may not be forgotten by cops, retired cops, families of a cops and even regular citizens. Bellone is young, he should be far more media savvy than to have allowed this debacle to unfold.
I don’t need anyone asking me to pray for a fallen cop or fireman – they receive my prayers automatically and are often accompanied by tears; and I certainly don’t have to like a Facebook page to do so. What were they thinking?