Deadline for election letters is 5 p.m. today, watch out for hit pieces

A wise man once said, "Don’t believe anything you read and only about half of what you see." As you probably guessed, he wasn’t a journalist. But his comment makes sense during the election season.

Hit pieces multiply when it’s time for an election. Usually the strongest candidates get targeted because, of course, they’re more likely to win. People don’t usually waste money on negative mailers and ads that take aim at political lightweights; why bother with losers?

It’s the tough cookies who get the attention.

And it’s amazing how low some people will go, especially at the last minute. The reason is obvious; you try to nail someone with a negative hit piece so that they can’t launch a counterattack. If you’ve timed it perfectly, like the weekend before a Tuesday election, the target of the dirty trick doesn’t have time to respond.

He’s "dead meat," so to speak.

So as the Calabasas City Council election approaches, don’t be surprised by dirty tactics at the last minute.

And don’t believe everything you see.

A former editor here at The Acorn wouldn’t run campaign letters the week before an election because there were too many hit pieces.

We’ll accept election-related letters through 5 p.m. today only. But no negative election letters will be accepted for next week’s issue.

Tell us why you’re voting in favor of someone, not why Candidate X should face the guillotine. No negative letters regarding the March 4 election will be printed in next week’s Acorn.

And watch out for negative ads and hit pieces.