Sunday afternoon, Aaron "Fuzzy" Newquist took to his campaign's Facebook page to make a statement in response to criticism that his mailers brought party politics into a non-partisan city council race. Newquist, currently in a runoff election for At Large Place 5, has been criticized for a letter to Robson Ranch asking voters to avoid voting for his opponent Dr. Deb Armintor because of her "liberal ideas."

The opening statement from Newquist is as follows,

Shortly after the May 5th election my campaign was advised that my opponent was engaging fully with the Democrat Party apparatus in order to turn this election partisan and divisive through various character attacks on my friends, supporters, and me

The statement is attached with a screenshot from Armintor's expenditure report, which shows that her campaign paid $235 for a canvassing expense from the Texas Democratic Party. This payment was made by Armintor for a list of voters to contact for her campaign.

Newquist and his supporters view this as evidence of collusion with the Democratic Party, while Armintor's supporters defend the expense as a practical method of obtaining voter information.

In the statement, Newquist goes on to say that Armintor is a radical progressive with no financial management experience. 

The Denton Record Chronicle reported that Newquist has spent $14,000 in his bid for At Large Place 5 on city council, while Armintor has spent a total of $3,000 in her campaign. 

The statement was released days after former city council candidate Jodi Vicars-Nance and sitting city council member Dalton Gregory publicly rescinded their endorsements of Newquist. Neither person fully endorsed Deb Armintor, but in a Facebook statement Gregory said, 
"As soon as I saw the letter to the Robson Ranchers I told Fuzzy that I must withdraw my endorsement. His negative reference to dual language programs (which has nothing to do with city policy) is disturbing because of the underlying hint of racism."

While enduring the loss of several endorsements, the Facebook page for Newquist's campaign was met with critical comments from those unhappy with his campaign tactics. Over the weekend numerous comments were deleted with some of those critics being banned from the campaign page entirely.

When a judge's decision to rule that it's unconstitutional for Trump to block Twitter users was referenced, Newquist wrote, "I am not an official of anything until I am elected. At that point you can bet that we will enable full and free discussion."

Early voting wraps up on Tuesday, June 12 with election day on Saturday, June 16. For information on where to vote, visit www.votedenton.com.

The full statement from Aaron Newquist is as follows:

Shortly after the May 5th election my campaign was advised that my opponent was engaging fully with the Democrat Party apparatus in order to turn this election partisan and divisive through various character attacks on my friends, supporters, and me. In the interest of public disclosure we launched a campaign to bring their covert tactics into the light. Though it may have seemed slightly politically incorrect, her finance statement confirms all this to be true. When it comes to standing up to deceit and bullying, I’m not always the most politically correct, but I always stand up.
So now, in the closing days of this city council election, my liberal opponent along with the Democrat Party and the various groups and individuals who support her, have chosen to run a campaign of deceit. Rather than addressing the facts and acknowledging the true differences between the candidates, they are playing the race card and attempting to divide us as a city based on fear, emotion, and intimidation.
To be clear, my opponent is a radical progressive who supports sanctuary city policies here in Denton. That is a fact. My opponent has no financial management experience and believes in increased taxes and spending for more social welfare programs here in Denton. That is also a fact. My opponent portrays herself as open-minded and inclusive, yet she sits by silently while her supporters troll, bully and intimidate those who disagree with her or who support me. That is yet another fact.
I believe in the rule of law. I believe in safe streets. I believe in low taxes and a strong local economy. I believe in putting the interests of the hard-working families of Denton above all else. And I believe in an open, honest discussion of the difference between the candidates, not one where those with differing opinions are shouted down or intimidated into silence.
We have a fundamental choice to make in this runoff election as to the direction our city will take in the years ahead. One path will lead to liberal policies that will increase spending and debt, while raising our taxes and cost of living and making our streets less safe. The other will keep taxes low, improve public safety and core city services, and support local businesses to bring quality jobs to Denton.
By June 16th, we must ensure that Denton continues to be a great place to live, work and call home. But that will not happen unless you vote. Make no mistake about it, the far-left radicals are mobilizing behind my opponent. They see this low-turnout election as an opportunity to gain a foothold in Denton. We cannot let them succeed, so please grab your friends, family and neighbors, and head to the polls. You can still vote early on Monday and Tuesday, June 11th and 12th, and election day is on Saturday the 16th.
Thank you for your rock-solid support of truth and of Fuzzy for Denton.

Header image courtesy of Denton Radio and Politically Denton
Header image by Mateo Granados