Gaming the System?

We hate politics.
You know why? Because politics is a dirty game.
And many try to game the system.

We'd like to believe little old Sun Prairie was above that, but perhaps not.
At election time, we like check out the STAR's "The Star Picks..." editorial for grins.  We usually can figure out which candidates the STAR will endorse (as if that requires some magic crystal ball), but we like to see how the editorial slants things.  But this year we came across something interesting.

One commenter, expressed concern about the lack of journalistic love for City Council candidate (and School Board candidate) Gary Alan Naud :

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Posted: Friday, February 10, 2012
Article comment by: Joshua Breister
I have to agree with Mr. Larson. I live in district 4 and had an opportunity to meet with Gary Alan Naud. He actually introduced himself, inquired about my life in Sun Prairie and thoughts about how our governments doing and where it can improve.

Naud actually took the time to listen and explain what he would do and stand up for. He had more to say than a sleepy (misspelled) rattling of the "same old" with the "same promises" and catch phrases. I think not even mentioning his name is an injustice to our community and letting them know who their options are.

I personally plan on voting for Gary Alan Naud in District 4!

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"Had an opportunity to meet"....? 
 Naud... "introduced himself"....?
Really?
One would hope so, seeing as a quick check on "411.com" shows that Sun Prairie School Board and City Council candidate Gary Alan Naud actually shares an apartment with Mr. Breister.

A little further Internet sleuthing will reveal that-- unless there is another Joshua Breister that has traveled from Fond du Lac to Sun Prairie like Mr. Naud-- Mr. Naud and Mr., Breister have known each other quite well for a number of years. C'mon!  What is this, like high school all over again?  Having a close friend write a letter to the editor (of sorts) posing as just the average Josh?

Mr. Naud may be new to politics, but he needs to counsel his friends against gaming the system.
It really paints a very unflattering picture for Mr. Naud's political future.  And that's too bad, because many of us are looking for fresh perspectives in local government.  But we want straight shooters.

This is indeed the electronic age, and Mr. Naud, who professes to be adept at social networking, has to realize that the Internet is a powerful tool, and people use it.  We all know from reading the papers that all candidates are simply selling their best wares.  But they need to be wary of being caught gaming the system.