In his own words: Matt Kelty on the poll

Earlier this week, Nathan Gotsch sat down with Matt Kelty to discuss his campaign. Among the things discussed was the poll that Kelty recently released to the media.

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Nathan Gotsch: Tell me a little bit about this poll and what the response to it was in Kelty headquarters.

Matt Kelty: Well, first of all, I think it's important to start at the beginning. I didn't commission this poll. I didn't even know it was being conducted. I was in Florida with my family this past week before Easter and on Monday a friend called me and told me about the poll and about the results, so that was the first that I had heard about it.

Because the poll included a question on Harrison Square and because Harrison Square is being hotly debated right now in the media and in the Fort Wayne dialogue, I thought it was important that last week we release the data on Harrison Square.

I hadn't had a chance to really sift through the numbers until I got back from Florida, and when I see that I'm in a dead heat with Nelson Peters amongst all voters -- and you have to realize that this Zogby Poll -- Zogby International is the one who did this poll; they're one of the best in the world and they made a point, I think, when they were asked about this, to clarify the fact that they don't write questions in order to give a client the result they want. They're the ones who have final control over how questions are written and they report the data as it's collected, without spin or nuance.

I didn't commission it, I didn't fund it. This is something that business folks in Fort Wayne who are concerned about this issue, they're the ones who drove it.

Are you talking about the issue of Harrison Square or the mayoral race?

Well I think that there -- and if you look at that, there's not just -- I mean, there are a number of issues they're addressing in this poll and it's Matt Kelty vs. Nelson Peters, it's what about -- are folks pleased or not pleased with the direction the city is taking, the Harrison Square issue, is there some aspect of Harrison Square i.e. the baseball stadium or the financing or some other aspect of it.

So they commissioned the poll, they shared the results with me so I used them. I think it was appropriate for me to use them because it became at that point information, just as if I ask someone to explain something to me, like Ron Reinking did, who is a CPA, and he talked about all the debt which is currently on the books, public debt currently in Fort Wayne. If you take the four school corporations, the City of Fort Wayne, the County of Allen, the Library, the Grand Wayne [Center] and the Coliseum, there's almost a billion dollars of debt.

Now the research that he did has value, because he shared that research with me, do I have to claim an in-kind contribution? I didn't. But I'm going to use that information -- and I have and I will continue to.

But I would say too, though, the difference between Ron Reinking giving you that information is you go out and say, "Ron Reinking, CPA gave me this information." I think a lot of the questions--

I haven't.

But I'm just saying, that example, then, is different than this, because here is a poll, you say, that someone gave me, and that's between me and them but here's the results of the poll. I think a lot of it, as far as the questions people have about the poll is, "Okay, who are the people who are giving you this information? Who are the people who have commissioned the poll?" and you're saying that that's between you and them.

Well, I'm saying it's up to them. The issue is not who did the poll, the issue is what does the poll say about Harrison Square? What does the poll say about the campaign right now? I don't want us to get distracted by a red herring. The people who did the poll don't want their names released because they don't want it to be about them. They want the poll to be about what the poll is about, which is about this campaign and about Harrison Square and about "Is the city on the right track or not?" And out of respect for them, when they shared the information with me it was on the condition that I wouldn't release their names, so I said, "Okay."

Why do you think that they didn't just release the information to the media themselves, directly? You can send out a press release without having your name attached to it.

Well, I will tell you this -- and I don't even know who all is involved in the group that did this, but the few guys that I do know don't have any direct involvement in campaigns. They were excited about -- and they're concerned about Harrison Square, so they were excited about that aspect in particular, and I think because of my well-publicized concerns regarding Harrison Square, building another baseball stadium by the public's dollar, they thought of me immediately and called me up and said, "Would you like to know the results of a poll that we commissioned?" and I said, "You know what? I'd love to. Can I use it? Please?" They said, "Yes, just don't tell anybody where it came from." So I said, "Alright, fine."

And I haven't used Ron Reinking's name when I've released his stuff. I've said, you know, there's a guy who's very well-known, he's a CPA in Fort Wayne, who shared this information with me. Should I have used his name? Maybe.

I don't understand, I mean if -- this was not something we commissioned, it's not something I paid for, it's not something that our campaign was responsible for. It's information which they could release except they don't want the notoriety and the exposure so they thought, "Well, Kelty will love this information. We'll give it to Kelty and he'll use it." And you know what? They're right.

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You can read the entire script used for the poll after the jump. The rest of the interview will appear here  next week.

Hi, my name is _________ and I'm doing a poll of voters in Fort Wayne for Community Research Group. May I ask you some questions?

1. Are you registered to vote in Fort Wayne?
    1. Yes    2. No (end)    3. Not sure (Do not read) (end)

2. How likely are you to vote in the Republican primary for mayor of Fort Wayne?
    1. Very likely    2. Somewhat likely    3. Not likely (end)    4. Not sure (Do not read) (end)

3. In which party are you either registered to vote or do you consider yourself to be a member of -- Democratic, Republican, independent/minor party, or Libertarian?
    1. Democratic    2. Republican    3. Independent/minor 
    4. Libertarian    5. Not sure (Do not read) (end)

4. If the election for mayor of Fort Wayne were held today and the candidates are Matt Kelty and Nelson Peters, for whom would you vote?
    1. Kelty    2. Peters    3. Someone else    4. Not sure (Do not read)

5. If the election for mayor of Fort Wayne were held today and the candidates are Wilbert "Duke" Brown, Ivan Hood, Matt Kelty, Teresa Licari and Nelson Peters, for whom would you vote?
    1. Brown    2. Hood    3. Kelty    4. Licari
    5. Peters    6. Someone else     7. Not sure (Do not read)

Please tell me if your overall opinion of each of the following people is very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or you are not familiar enough to form an opinion.

6. Matt Kelty

7. Nelson Peters

8. In your opinion, is Fort Wayne heading in the right direction or off on the wrong track?

9. Which of the following characteristics is most important to you in a mayor?
    1. Values, Vision, Leadership
    2. Continuity, Competence, Experience
    3. Innovation, Integrity, Optimism

10. Do you support of oppose the Harrison Square development as proposed by the City of Fort Wayne?

11. Whether or not you support or oppose the project as a whole, which one of the following parts of the City's proposed Harrison Square project are you most opposed to?
    1. Ballpark    2. Condominiums    3. Hotel
    4. Parking Garage    5. Retail Space    6. Public Financing

Thanks, we're almost done. I just need some statistics.

701. What is your age?

903. Which of the following best describes your highest level of educations>
    1. Less than H.S. graduate    2. H.S. graduate
    3. Some college    4. College graduate

904. Which of the following best represents your race or ethnic group?
    1. White, non-Hispanic    2. Hispanic    3. African American   
    4. Asian/Pacific    5. Other/mixed

907. Which of the following best represents your religious affiliation?
    1. Roman Catholic    2. Protestant/other non-denominational Christian
    3. Jewish    4. Muslim    5. Atheist/Realist/Humanist    6. Other/no affiliation

908. (Only if 907=2) Do you consider yourself to be a born-again, evangelical, or fundamentalist Christian?

909. Are you or is anyone in your household a member of a union?

910. Are you a parent or guardian of a child under 17 who is living at home?

914. Which of the following best describes your marital status?
    1. Married    2. Single, never married    3. Divorced/widowed/separated
    4. Civil union/domestic partnership

919. Do you own or rent your home?

941. How long have you lived in Fort Wayne?
    1. Less than 10 years    2. 10 years or more

921. Which of the following best represents your household income last year before taxes?
    1. Less than $25,000    2. $25,000 - $ 34,999    3. $35,000 - $49,999
    4. $50,000 - $74,999    5. $75,000 - $99,999    6. $100,000 or more

922. Gender (Do not ask, simply record.)
    1. Male    2. Female

Thank you for taking time to complete the survey.

Comments

[Sam Talarico, Jr.]

I need to offer this disclaimer before I start: I support Nelson Peters for mayor.

Ok, now thats out of the way, I want to comment on the absolute absurdity of Kelty's comments on the poll.

Clearly Matt Kelty understands the concept of an "in-kind" campaign contribution. His last campaign finance report was loaded with them and these "in-kind" contributions helped fluff up his report considerably to mask the $18,000 in cash he had actually raised from those other than himself. His campaign manager's services (which includes the providing of INFORMATION") were correctly listed as "in-kind" contributions.

If indeed his CPA were asked to prepare financial reports or financial statements of any type and if his CPA does not charge the campaign for such services, then this is an in-kind contribution. Kelty, IS correct that if he bumps into his CPA on the street and the CPA provides information that the "community has a billion dollars in debt on the books" that this is NOT an in-kind contribution of "information".

The Poll, however, is a no-brainer. It could not be clearer that this poll was prepared for Kelty's use. When is the last time you heard a group of non polticians decide to just go drop $10,000 on a zogby poll just to see what is going on? This is laughable. This was commissioned for political use AND it was not given to the Peters Campaign; it was not given to Tom Henry's campaign; it was not given to Ivan Hoods campaign; and it was not given directly to the newspapers. It was given to Matt Kelty for his use (his brilliant use I might add) in his campaign. This very expensive zogby poll was contributed to Matt Kelty for use in his campaign, period. This literally defines what an "in-kind" contribution is.

I cannot for the life of me figure out why either:

1. Matt Kelty does not want people to know who paid for the poll? or

2. Why these Kelty supporters do not want people to know that they are supporting Kelty (and why are they making Kelty embarrass himself by having to dance around this issue)?; or

3. Why these Harrison Square opponents dont want people to know that they are opposing the project?

I dont get. It just doesnt make sense to me.

Sam Talarico, Jr.

[Jason Blosser]

It's only fair to wait until the rest of the interview is posted, but Kelty's responses aren't helping me feel too good about continuing my support for him.

Nelson Peters did a superb this week on WOWO, and if Matt Kelty has a chance in the primaries, he is going to need to significantly ratchet up his communication skills, including a sound delivery of his plan to save the Fort from continued mediocrity.

[Ron Reinking]

re: In his own words: Matt Kelty on the Poll

The recent interview with Matt Kelty referenced research information that I have used in some of my presentations and public writings and could (and apparently has) been misintrepreted.
1. Mr. Kelty and I met just last week and he is not a client of mine.
2. The financial information he referenced was presented at the Rotary Club in a formal meeting with about 80 in attendance. My notes were made available to any attendees that expressed interest.
3. Mr. Kelty badly misrepresented my findings. Allen County taxpayers are not 1 billion in debt, but with the approved or pending proposals debt will exceed 2 billion.
Ron Reinking, CPA