Smear Campaign Backfires On Anna Bergman

The House District 44 candidate forum on October 11th between candidates Democrat Kenan Judge and Republican Anna Bergman was a policy-based discussion that was civil and informative.

Before the forum, the Bergman and Judge campaigns talked policy. But the second the forum was over, Anna Bergman posted an attack ad against her opponent on social media and broadcast TV. There would be no chance to confront Anna Bergman on the allegations in person with no events left before the election. It was a dishonest style of gutter politics that, at best, only makes folks angry on all sides of issues.

Judges campaign did air a mild response, but the majority of their ads were centered around who Kenan Judge was and had a positive feel. Bergman’s campaign doubled down on the negative smears and never looked back until election night was over.

Anna Bergman is a Waukee City Councilwoman and lawyer who was working for a non-profit when she submitted a letter to the editor this January that called Democrats hyperbolic. When she was fired because of the partisan stunt, she sued and got a settlement of $20,000. The strategy seemed to be one of dividing and playing the victim. It seemed calculated and was costly to the non-profit.

Kenan Judge worked his way up from the meat department to be an executive at Hy-Vee. He and his wife Kathy have raised four daughters. He is retired and wanted to use his time to give back to the community. His peers in the district seem to want that too.

I could not be prouder to be from Waukee and House District 44 after this election. The constituents were not fooled and showed that they are completely capable of objective reasoning.

Underestimating her potential constituent’s intelligence was the flaw that ended this run for Anna Bergman.

by Matt Chapman
Posted 11/9/18