Watertown mayoral race between Graham, Smith turns negative

Libraries, the Lottery and political parties: Watertown's race for city mayor just got more lively, and more negative.

Watertown Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham accused his Nov. 8 opponent, Councilman Jeffrey M. Smith, of trying to “hatch a plan to close” the Flower Memorial Library 10 years ago — a charge that Mr. Smith denies. Mr. Smith called Mr. Graham's criticism of a union endorsement hypocritical, and brought up a decade-old scandal in a fierce repartee Wednesday.

“Some judgments made by my opponent should give reason for pause,” Mr. Graham told assembled media from prepared remarks at the Farmers Market on Washington Street.

The accusation about a plan to close the library is based on something that Councilwoman Roxanne M. Burns allegedly overheard Mr. Smith say in 2000. As he did in 2000, Mr. Smith denied wanting to close the library. (Ms. Burns reiterated Wednesday that Mr. Smith, in private, had suggested closing the library to patch a budget gap. She has endorsed Mr. Graham for re-election.)

“This is just a person that is desperate and is making stuff up,” Mr. Smith said of his opponent. “Maybe I was confused for someone else. Ten years ago, he was going through his Lottery scandal.”

Mr. Smith was referring to the revelations that John R. Breen Jr. gambled away his stepdaughter's fortune between 1999 and 2002 while playing Quick Draw at several bars in the city, including Mr. Graham's Speak Easy. Mr. Breen and Mr. Graham were friends and political associates.

“He's bringing up issues that have been adjudicated and digested by voters,” Mr. Graham said. “I'm talking about public policy. He's welcome to bring up whatever.”

In interviews, Mr. Graham and Mr. Smith positioned themselves as strong supporters of the library, each noting support for renovations that the facility has undergone. Both said they don't support closing it.

Mr. Smith: “I've supported the library. I have never once proposed, suggested or wanted to close the library. ... I have brought up and pushed forward in terms of renovating the fountain that was suggested to be removed.”

Mr. Graham: “I've been a big supporter of it. We increased staffing so they could increase hours this year.”

Mr. Graham also rehashed accusations that he has been posting this week on his blog: that an endorsement by a union group, and an introduction by a party official, sullied the city's nonpartisan electoral system.

Since the 1920s, candidates for City Council and mayor appear on the ballot without a party line, and while party activists typically pass out petitions for candidates to get on the ballot, the parties themselves traditionally don't get involved in the process.

Last week, Mr. Smith was endorsed by the Central Trades and Labor Council, a group representing 24,000 AFL-CIO workers in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Sean M. Hennessey, Jefferson County's Democratic Committee chairman, introduced Mr. Smith at the Gouverneur event — but did not endorse or invite him, he said.

“He comes to Watertown from his childhood roots in the Democratic clubhouse politics in Queens. For him, party is how you define a person,” Mr. Graham wrote on his campaign blog.

Mr. Hennessey took exception to the accusation that his introduction was anything more than a courtesy, and questioned how his role in the introduction — Mr. Smith is a Republican and he is a Democrat — would be anything less than nonpartisan.

“There's no candidate in this race that I endorsed,” he said. “It is a nonpartisan race. I said that in the meeting. That was very clearly called out when I walked onto the floor. I am the Democratic chair, but I feel like somebody needs to introduce him.”

Mr. Hennessey said he saw a tinge of inconsistency in the mayor's accusation.

“Just look at his website,” Mr. Hennessey said. “It's full of partisan rhetoric. For him to make the claim is ludicrous.”

At the Farmers Market event, Mr. Graham — speaking just feet from where members of Mr. Smith's family were convening, wearing his “Renew Our Future” campaign T-shirts — rebutted the notion that an introduction and an endorsement by Republican Matthew A. Doheny at a campaign event in April constituted a partisan pox on both candidates' houses.

“Everybody's registered in some kind of party,” Mr. Graham said. “It's a political world. I think having a party chair escort you in and introduce you is basically an endorsement, if you will. I think that's an inappropriate intrusion of the parties into our nonpartisan system.”