The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Dave Iwans, a consultant who helped Will Sessoms win the mayoral election, has been indicted on one charge of violating campaign advertising laws.
A grand jury returned a misdemeanor indictment against Iwans on Monday related to fliers distributed to voters in mostly black precincts on Election Day in November. The fliers showed Sessoms and Barack Obama together but failed to disclose who paid for them, as required by state law.
If convicted, Iwans could face up to a year in jail or up to a $2,500 fine.
Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle Mobley, who was brought in to handle the case, decided to seek criminal charges because there was an intent to deceive voters, his spokesman said.
"What made this go to where it is, is the degree of concealment and deception," Bill Prince said.
Iwans is the founder of DIA Inc., a Norfolk marketing and public relations firm. He has worked on Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim's campaign and helped Virginia Beach Councilman John Uhrin.
Iwans oversaw Sessoms' media strategy, where most of the record-breaking $628,000 that the campaign raised was spent.
Moody "Sonny" Stallings Jr., who represents Iwans, said his client admitted spending about $1,250 of his own money on the fliers. Leaving the disclosure notice off the flier was a mistake by Iwans, Stallings said.
"I think he knew that candidates had to put disclaimers on the fliers. He didn't realize that someone acting as a private citizen would have to do that," Stallings said. The law, however, is aimed at preventing outside groups from secretly advertising in campaigns, he said.
"The intent of the law was that you can't do what he did," Stallings said. "He had a passion for Will Sessoms to help him win... why he thought this extra stuff was needed."
Iwans isn't a political novice, Prince said. Iwans' decision to pay for the fliers outside the campaign also raises questions, the spokesman for Mobley said.
"He didn't pass the smell test," Prince said.
Iwans was the only person indicted in the case. Sessoms has said that he didn't know about the fliers.
Pilot reporter Shawn Day contributed to this article.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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Sigh..
Whatever you say, Fletch...yawn..
Predictable: another deflection, but I like Wikipedia so . . .
Addressing your tangent:I simply wanted to help you understand the logical fallacy inherent in asking someone to prove a negative. Wikipedia is actually a good first source for more or less everything. but like everything else on the web, e.g. your shoddy two equals many examples, you have to aware of the nature of the source. The old adage don't believe everything you read is as true for Wikipedia as it is any other source, including conventional paper encyclopedias. The "content" not that it matters but it is obvious you have little basis for your "many man on the street interviews" fiction or whether the flier actually swayed any votes. Anyone who is so bored as to read this entire thread will find that obvious. You should have just said you were wildly exaggerating in the first place. Also obvious will be that you condone the crime that is the basis of this topic because of the perverse idea that anyone fooled by the flier deserved it so it isn't a crime or a variation everything must be just before anything is just
Fletch...
Your obsession with all things Howard Stern is noted. You actually 'prove' in your own way why it's easy to believe that you and your fellow Obama supporters are indeed gullible to pranks like these flyers being distributed. Oh, and WIKIPEDIA? You're going to offer Wikipedia as a legitimate source for ANYTHING? Correct me, here if you will (ahem) but isn't Wikipedia the site where anyone can change the content of any entry as they see fit? Again, if you ever see fit to stand up and show the 'proof' (LOL) you've been promising for all this time now, I'll be here to discuss it with you. Until then, this has become rather, well, stale. Hope to hear back from you when, or more to the point, IF, you have something interesting to say. I hope your fellow brethren make the effort to actually educate themselves on voter issues, otherwise, we're going to see more such flyers that expose them for what they are. The thought that a flyer can swing an election is just too comical to not try again. LOL...
GuyFrom "proving a negative"
It is apparent you did not understand that bit either. Here is a link that explains the problem with it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance
GuyFrom . . . I stand corrected (sort of)
Your posts are becoming increasingly bizarre and disjointed train wreck which why I'm responding. Keep up the good work! You have indeed produced another source for your man on the street interview idea. I stand corrected, but this one is from a anti-Obama conspiracy web site! (I invite readers to check it out). The other video is somewhat ambiguous in relevance to our discussion and certainly not supportive of your original and still unsupported statement that there are "many of the 'man-in-the-street' interviews" like the ones in the Stern skit. Where I come many is more than one. But while your original statement does not appear to be true I'm no longer convinced you were being dishonest. I'm beginning to think that your problem (aside from not really knowing what "many" means) is that you don't understand why some sources are reliable and some less so. Hint: Howard Stern is not reliable. Docudramas, like your other source, probably not reliable. You also don't understand burden of proof. You made a series of wild claims. I questioned some of them. Now it is up to you to prove them if you care to. Not the other way around. Oh and "proof" isn't "my" word. I hav
seriously?
You want us to belive that he used his own money? I hope he serves jail time and also expect that Sessoms gets indicted too. How can he not be? He hired him.
I would understand that Sessoms could get away if the person that printed the fliers was not directly associated with Seeoms, but for crying out loud those fliers (which broke the law) were printed by Sessom's campaign manager. How can Sessoms get away with this?
Oh, and this Fletch...
You challenged me to provide a source besides Stern’s hilarious expose. Here is another one, although I’m sure that it will not be believed by you and yours. The guy who conducted them has done a great job defending them on other sites, from the usual leftist attack dogs. None the less, it is oh-so revealing.
http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/video/how_obama_got_elected_interviews_with_obama_voters/
Below is a different interview, with just one man. Here is a young man who obviously has done some research. He is quite impressive in his responses and answers, this despite an obvious attempt by the interviewer to trip him up. While there are things that can be disagreed with as far as his positions, I again point out that he comes across as a truly informed voter. The interview is from another part of the country.
http://thinkonthesethings.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/video-interviewer-picks-the-wrong-obama-supporter-to-try-to-railroad/
After seeing that interview, do you think this guy would vote according to what he saw on a flyer? Which begs this question, is he typical of the Obama supporters in VaBeach?
Again for Fletcherpratt..
"Prove a negative". 'Paranoia'. 'Victimhood'. The list is starting to get longer and longer, Fletch. All you've been asked to do is back up your charge that any lying is going here. That should oh-so simple for you who so blatantly utter the assertion! But, if you're not up to it, I understand. To be exposed on such a public venue for not being able to offer a modicum of 'proof' (your word, by the way) to the very accusations you make must be galling. I guess ALL of Obama's supporters were well heeled in the issues and positions every candidate had, not to mention KNOWING (snicker) whose positions aligned with whose! So, I guess it just HAD to be a case of either brainwashing, or someone held a gun to each and every one of those allegedly affected to the point of voting for Sessoms, who otherwise would have voted for one of the other candidates! Is that it? Is that your position du jour?
Get back with me on that..Thanks..
At this point you're asking
At this point you're asking me to prove a negative (that there are no non Stern sources for the man on the street interviews) and throwing up more smoke. I'm beginning to think this is just trollish behavior on your part. I'll give you one more chance and then I'm done fooling around with you. How about you produce just one non stern source for your man on the street interview lie. Don't bother answering if you can't.
Back at Fletcherpratt yet again..
You keep harping on Howard Stern. While I am quite familiar with the Stern piece that showed how utterly, contemptibly clueless many of Obama's supporters are, there have been plenty of others done by accredited media entities that revealed the very same thing. So do what you best, deflect with (ahem) diagnosis of 'paranoia', victimhood, and anything else that helps you avoid refuting what cannot be refuted. So I'm still waiting for you to produce evidence that I lied, or am lying, about any of this. Nobody has 'backed off about the effect' on the election, I say again, if anybody is that stupid and/or ignorant to actually vote based on a flyer, and a flyer alone, they have no business being part of a process that determines who we, or they, will be governed by. You say quite a lot, while not saying anything (of substance) at all. It would be far more beneficial for you to leave the diagnosing to the pros, and actually confront the challenges levied at you. In this case, how about offering up that 'proof' hmmm? I'll be here!