Daylin Leach cries foul over graphic political ad he calls 'scare tactics'

It's one thing to make a point in a campaign ad. But should it be with a hypodermic needle that appears to be dripping blood?

In what is shaping up to be the most hotly contended state race on the Main Line in 2008, Democratic candidate for the 17th District Senate seat Daylin Leach is crying foul over a political advertisement put out by his opponent, Republican Lance Rogers. He held a press conference last week to denounce the ad.

The ad, which started arriving in district mailboxes in the past two weeks, not only uses images that go beyond lurid, not only misrepresents his record, Leach says, but tells "the exact opposite of the truth."

Rogers, however, is standing firm on the accuracy of the ad and on his position that Leach's actions in 2003 on an issue involving Pennsylvania's driving-under-the-influence law would have weakened the law and represent an example of his "bad judgment" as a legislator.

Leach, the incumbent 149th District state representative, and Rogers, a Lower Merion Township commissioner, are vying for the seat that will be left open when state Sen. Connie Williams, a Democrat, retires this year. Williams has endorsed Leach to replace her.

The history of the matter at issue is complicated. In 2003, Leach said he at first sponsored a separate bill aimed at aiding prosecution of incidents in which a person is arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of illegal drugs. Later, he said he attempted to achieve the same goal by introducing an amendment to a more general DUI bill.

At the time, Leach said, "There were two ways to convict a person of driving under the influence of alcohol." The first is if a police officer testifies that the person is not capable of driving; if, under the usual list, the officer detects an odor of alcohol; if the driver's speech is slurred; or if he fails certain tasks.

The second way is a blood test. At the time, the limit was 0.10 percent; the purpose of the legislation was to reduce that limit to 0.08 percent.

In the case of impairment by drugs, Leach said, there was only one way, by the officer's testimony. There were no standards, for example, for the amount of cocaine in someone's blood. And a cocaine user might not display the same signs as someone who had been drinking.

"Those are very difficult convictions to get," Leach said. In fact, "They're almost never brought by prosecutors." Leach said he was trying to make it easier for prosecutors by establishing limits admissible in court. He suggested certain levels, based on numbers used by several other states.

After some other legislators objected, Leach withdrew his amendment, but he points out that language stating that the Department of Health would determine levels was ultimately included in a Senate bill, SB8, that was adopted and signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell.

Pointing to the record of the floor debate in the House on Leach's proposed amendment on July 7, 2003, Rogers said that Leach clearly is arguing for some leeway for drug users. The law, without Leach's amendment, would have stood as a "zero-tolerance" policy; no amount of these illegal drugs would have been deemed permissible.

Citing that record, the advertisement paid for by the Pennsylvania Republican Party accuses Leach of putting "the rights of cocaine and heroin users before our public safety." One side of the mailer is a photo of a hypodermic needle and other drug paraphernalia. The other side carries a photo of an overturned school bus, next to a car with a crumpled hood and broken wind-shield.

Leach said it's a simple case of scare tactics, and he deplored the choice to send the image into homes where children might see it.

The ad is one in a series of campaign literature put out for Rogers that points to instances of Leach's "bad judgment" in Harrisburg. Other ads have criticized his vote and newspaper editorial in favor of the a legislative pay raise and his use of legislative perks such as a taxpayer-funded car. That ad neglects to say that Leach's car is a hybrid, a type of car he pushed to get into the state fleet.

"The issue here is clear, [in 2003] Daylin Leach made a motion to weaken Pennsylvania's zero tolerance DUI law and allow illegal drug users to get behind the wheel with quantities of heroin and cocaine and methampheta-mine in their system," Rogers said after hearing Leach's response.

Leach's bottom line: "I did not intend to weaken the DUI law, and I did not weaken the DUI law."

"If you research it and find out that I'm wrong, print that," he said.

In the meantime, he has continued to send out mailers that emphasize that his is "the positive campaign for Senate." His recent literature has highlighted his achievements in the area of women's health care and his support for limits on gun purchases and other issues of gun control, a stance he acknowledges may not be popular with everyone.

Asked about the "hypodermic" ad itself, Rogers said it was put out "in conjunction with the Republican Party."

"The Republican Party's name is on the ad. They ultimately make the decision," he said. He did say, however, that he saw the ad before it was sent out.

Is it a reasonable way to get his point across?

"Yes," Rogers said. "This is a serious issue. It's not something we should let slip by."