Consultant apologizes for online attacks

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, June 17, 2003 | 8:50 a.m.

A paid political consultant who helped Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro win re-election is apologizing for Internet mudslinging between him and supporters of mayoral challenger Bill Smith that included post-election personal attacks.

The consultant, Joe Demma, also has offered to resign from R&R Partners, primarily an advertising and marketing firm, but officials at the firm said Demma remains employed with the agency. Demma works in the government and public affairs division under Ferraro's son Greg.

In a message posted Saturday on the Boulder City Political Forum Internet site, Demma apologized for what he called "recent inappropriate remarks on this forum."

The apology came about a week after Demma insulted Smith and some of his supporters in messages posted on a free Yahoo Internet site (groups.yahoo.com/group/bouldercitypoliticalforum/).

"Bill Smith is a liar and a tirant (sic) who I have the privilege of putting to sleep," Demma said in one message.

"You are a loser and so is Bill Smith," Demma said in a message to a Smith supporter, in which Demma also made fun of the man's "junker of a car."

According to the site, the messages were posted June 9. Ferraro beat Smith by 18 votes in the June 3 general election to win another four-term as mayor.

In his apology message, Demma said: "A hallmark of R&R Partners is to win with grace and dignity and to respect all individuals involved and unfortunately, I violated that long-standing rule. I am sorry for this situation and apologize again if I have offended anyone."

Demma said Monday that while he shouldn't have responded the way he did, his inappropriate comments were a reaction to weeks of insulting messages directed at him and the mayor from others active in the online forum.

"It wasn't like it was all me ... and to paint me as an instigator is wrong," the 24-year-old said. "It was dumb and foolish and I should have looked the other way."

In the online forum, personal attacks that Demma said included insulting cartoons featuring caricatures of Demma and Ferraro also prompted Demma to threaten that the postings could be used as evidence in a lawsuit. Demma also claimed that his uncle is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Ferraro said he had no idea Demma was participating in the online forum until after his election victory.

The mayor said he hasn't spoken with Demma about the forum, but Ferraro said his wife was so upset with Demma's actions that she called Demma and told him to stop.

"I have no idea what he was thinking," the mayor said. "But he was representing his firm and me and he was wrong to be on there and responding."

Smith, a former city councilman, said Demma's actions made people lose respect for Ferraro.

"Ferraro had to know what (Demma) was doing," Smith said. "And none of it was in character for Bob."

Forum participant Lindy Casey said that while there seemed to be some mudslinging from both sides leading up to Election Day, she was really bothered by Demma's post-election messages.

"If he was just anybody off the street, who cares. But he represents the mayor," she said.

Demma's activity on the online forum started on April 24, a few weeks after Ferraro finished 134 votes behind Smith in the April 8 primary election.

Demma said that on April 9 his employers told him "to go help get (Ferraro) elected."

Demma said he had been monitoring the forum site for at least six months before then to keep tabs on what Smith and his supporters were saying.

"Then I foolishly got involved in what they were saying," he said.

Sandra Reuther, who is in charge of the nearly 2-year-old forum, said she wasn't surprised by what happened on the site.

"I don't think he was the first or last person that made a posting without thinking it through," Reuther said.

According to information from the site archives, Demma posted at least 25 messages before his apology.

For the most part, his early messages touted Ferraro's campaign messages and criticized Smith's campaign claims. Smith and Ferraro clashed over the long-term financial health of the city and the new city-owned Boulder Creek Golf Club, with Smith saying both were in trouble and Ferraro saying both were in good shape.

In some of his messages, Demma said Smith was uninformed, lying, and unqualified to assess the city's financial condition, just like Ferraro and others were saying outside the online forum.

In his messages leading up to the June 3 election, Demma was also frequently critical of the attacks being levied against him in the forum. He identified himself in some of the messages as a campaign volunteer for the mayor, even though he wasn't a volunteer.

He also falsely claimed to be a Boulder City resident in some of his messages, which he said he did to irk his opponents.

In several messages posted on May 21, Demma lashed out at those critics, calling one a "despicable human being," and calling others "angry frauds" in another message.

Demma said his mistake was in sending the post-election message in which he gloated over Ferraro's victory.

"I was being a foolish young boy, saying, 'I won and you lost,' " he said.

Jim Ferrence, Ferraro's campaign manager and a senior vice president at Paladin Advertising, said that while he wouldn't have responded as Demma did, Demma was provoked.

"These people turned nasty and personal a month before Joe did," Ferrence said.

But R&R President Mary Ann Mele said Demma shouldn't have participated in the online forum at all.

"One time is too many," she said. "It was a colossal mistake made by a 24-year-old ... It will never happen again."

Demma said Monday he has offered to resign from R&R Partners.

Mele said R&R is dealing with the situation, and "at this point he is still employed."

Ferraro said Demma was "very helpful" in his re-election effort.

At the election night party celebrating Ferraro's slim victory it was hard to tell who was more excited by the victory, Demma or the mayor.

The two drove from poll to poll as soon as they closed on election night and added up the results long before the votes were counted by the Clark County Election Department.

And when they arrived at the party at Montanas restaurant at the Boulder Creek Golf Club, it was Demma who announced the results to the crowd.

Ferraro said he was under the impression Demma was a campaign volunteer. But Ferrence said he thought Demma was being paid.

Mele said Demma's services will be counted as an in-kind, or non-cash, donation to Ferraro's campaign.

Demma estimated the in-kind donation will be valued at $5,000.