Anonymous flyers appeared over the weekend in Evanston opposing incumbent aldermen in the 1st, 3rd and 7th Wards. But one of the targets of the attack says she knows where they came from.
Alderman Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, says 6th Ward resident and frequent City Council critic Mike Vasilko knocked on her Sherman Avenue door as he was distributing flyers to her neighbors.
“Hi, Mike,” she says she said to the startled Vasilko.
Evanston Now this morning emailed Vasilko seeking comment about the flyers, but we haven’t heard back yet.
The flyers feature themes that have been familiar topics for Vasilko’s public comments during City Council meetings, including an unproven claim that the fill material used on artificial turf fields at the new Robert Crown Center, EPDM, poses a cancer risk to players.
The challenger in the 7th Ward race, Mary Rosinksi, says, “I would never condone this type of political messaging.” She says she emailed incumbent Alderman Eleanor Revelle after she learned about the flyers, saying, “I want you to know I would not resort to that campaign tactic ever.”
Incoming Mayor Daniel Biss says, “This flyer is awful and the lack of attribution on the bottom is especially troubling. I hope Evanstonians ignore smear campaigns from outside organizations and instead pay attention to the positive, issue-based campaigns of the candidates themselves.”
Update 4:25 p.m. 4/6/21: In an email this afternoon Vasilko confirmed that he had produced and distributed the flyers.