Editorial Board

Race-baiting is an ugly political trick. Rather than trying to unite voters around good ideas, race-baiting seeks to further split a community by exploiting its racial divisions. Race-baiting is not about vision, issues or candidate qualifications. It is about fear, mistrust and us-versus-them.

This type of campaigning has no place in Monroe County politics. Yet, this year, it is front and center in the Monroe County Republican Committee playbook.

We call on Chairman Bill Reilich and Executive Director Ian Winner to stop this shameful practice. Now.

Over the past two weeks, the Republican Committee has issued a series of press releases that focus on the contest for Monroe County Executive. Yet, these releases are not about Republican incumbent Cheryl Dinolfo's achievements or what she hopes to accomplish in a second term. In fact, her name is barely mentioned.

A bizarre connection

The first release contained just 10 words, in the form of a question for Dinolfo's Democratic opponent, Monroe County Clerk Adam Bello.

"Does Adam Bello support his potential running mate Leticia Astacio?"

Making this bizarre connection between Bello and the embattled former Rochester City Court Judge would be laughable if it were not so harmful. Our community is already split, largely along racial lines, over the handling of Astacio's case by the criminal justice system, the media and the court of public opinion. To bring it up in the Monroe County Executive race, which is totally unrelated, serves no purpose other than to exploit existing divisions.

And an irrelevant question

Two other releases demanded that Bello take a stand on another racially charged issue: Should New York allow undocumented immigrants to have driver's licenses?

In an attempt to make this issue, which is being deliberated by state lawmakers, relevant to Monroe County politics, the GOP Committee tweaked the question: Would Bello support giving out these licenses at local DMV offices, at local taxpayer expense?

They are likely trying to revive memories of then-County Clerk Dinolfo joining a lawsuit against a similar measure that former Gov. Eliot Spitzer rammed through without legislative approval. The measure was later dropped.

But, in this case, Bello's answer would be irrelevant. This would be a state law, and county clerks must abide by it. They can demand the state help cover processing costs, but there are no guarantees.

Just ask Dinolfo. When she was in Bello's shoes, she was required to enact portions of New York's SAFE Act, which she opposed. She led an effort to get the state to pay county costs. When that did not work, she did not try to sue. She ignored the law. Is the GOP asking Bello to be derelict in his duties, too?

We deserve more

These are glaring examples of race-baiting. A more subtle instance involving prisoners was woven into another of the releases. The questions lack substance. They lack value. They risk making an unhealthy divide in our community even deeper. With this disgusting display of opportunism and insensitivity, the Republican Committee is clearly not focused on making our community better.

Monroe County voters deserve more.