ABC 17 Truth Alert
In an ABC 17 News truth alert, with less than thirty days until people can cast their vote, politicians are going after their opponents more than they’re touting themselves. The competition for Missouri’s Governor Seat between businessman Dave Spence and Governor Jay Nixon is one of the state’s high-profile races.ABC 17 News took closer look at the most recent campaign ads and found both Spence and Nixon have been hitting hard with statements about each other’s past. Their advertisements both make clear statements, but in some cases only show part of the truth, Spence’s most recent advertisement calls into question statements Nixon made in previous commercials.Nixon’s commercial said, “Candidate Dave Spence helped run a bank that got a $40 Million dollar bailout.” Spence’s advertisement said, “Seen Jay Nixon’s negative attacks? Fact checkers call them misleading.” That’s true, according to officials of Reliance Bancshares Inc. Spence was elected director in May of 2009, after the company voted to take the $40 million dollar bailout.One of Nixon’s recent ads claims Spence refused to pay back tax payers from the bailout. This statement is also true, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch the entire board voted to not pay back the money, yet.Spence claims that under Governor Nixon the Missouri Labor Force has fallen behind. This is also true; ABC 17 News even did the math. Since Nixon took office in January of 2009 the work force has dropped by more than 95 Thousand.However, the advertisement does not mention that unemployment has also dropped from 8.6% to 7.2 %t during that same time, indicating there could be other reasons behind the workforce and unemployment drop.Nixon claimed newspapers criticized Spence for “rigging the system,” and tried to “fool voters” about his role in the bail out. ABC 17 News checked the articles and found these statements are only partially true.The St. Louis Dispatch actually said the “haves” have rigged the system to their benefit, implying Spence but not saying his name directly. The Kansas City Star said Spence is mistaken if he thinks he can fool the voters, not that he already had.Both Governor Jay Nixon and Dave Spence also make statements in support of what they have done over the years. Spence spends time emphasizing how he has created jobs, and so does Nixon, but both did it in different ways. When ABC 17 News checked both are true, yet the candidates continue to bash each other’s claims in their advertisements.
