Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509220090
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Short
``This ad is extremely insulting not only to me, but to veterans, the Jewish community and to my men,'' said Sheriff Frank Cassell.
Jewish leaders told the Martinsville Bulletin they were also offended by the two-minute commercials, which were paid for by candidate Ken Barnett and started running Tuesday on a local cable channel.
``It is an obvious insult to the Jewish community, but it is a bigger insult to the entire community, which has an enormous amount of patriotic citizens who have laid their lives on the line to stop Hitler during World War II,'' Ohev Zion Synagogue president Vivian McDorman told the newspaper.
In the ad, the sheriff's picture appears beside one of Hilter, and deputies who locked Cable 6 reporters out of a fund-raiser for Cassell are referred to as ``goose-stepping Gestapo.''
Barnett, who also works for Cable 6 as a technician, said the comparison made in the commercial is valid. He said the deputies threatened to arrest the reporters if they entered the event at Patrick Henry Community College.
Cassell said deputies kept the news team out because it has been a nuisance in the past. ``These people are very disruptive, sticking mikes in people's faces and shouting questions,'' he said.
Cassell said he will disclose after the Nov. 7 election whether he will sue.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB