FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 8, 2020
CONTACT: Liz Doherty
Elected Officials Call on Dan Forest to Remove False Ad That “Uses Violent Stock Images” From Out of State to Misrepresent Asheville
“Damaging our local economy to score political points is not helpful.”
ASHEVILLE — Today, elected officials are calling on Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Forest to pull down a false campaign advertisement that misrepresents Asheville.
Yesterday, WLOS reported that Forest is running an ad that features stock images from outside of North Carolina in an attempt to paint a violent and dishonest picture of Asheville. Stock photos used in the ad are actually from New York City and Washington, D.C.
Rep. John Ager, N.C. House District 115, said, “Lt. Gov. Forest, you don’t run for governor of North Carolina and trash one of its major and most successful cities with lies, and gain the trust of voters. Take down the video and apologize.”
Sen. Terry Van Duyn, N.C. Senate District 49, said, “Dan Forest claims he’ll fight for an economy that works, but he’s actually hurting Asheville businesses — spreading fear and lying about the community I love. It’s a glimpse of what he would be as governor — dangerous and divisive. He should pull the ad immediately.”
Rep. Brian Turner, N.C. House District 116, said, “This ad does not reflect an accurate picture of Asheville, as anyone who has ever been here would know. Damaging our local economy to score political points is not helpful, Buncombe County deserves better. We want leadership not inflammatory rhetoric.”
According to WLOS, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer denounced the ad immediately, explaining, “While [Dan Forest] purports to be concerned about the tourism economy in Asheville, he’s using an ad that will be used statewide that falsely shows images of Asheville which hurts our economy, which hurts the local businesses in Asheville that depend on tourism by spreading deceptive images and lies.”
KEY POINTS:
- Asheville leaders say an ad for gubernatorial candidate Dan Forest uses violent images from major metropolitan areas when referencing the mountain city.
- “Ironically, what I think this ad accomplishes is, one, it reinforces distrust in politicians because they’re using fake pictures and lies to try to get elected,” Manheimer said Wednesday. “And second of all, while he (Forest) purports to be concerned about the tourism economy in Asheville, he’s using an ad that will be used state-wide, that falsely shows images of Asheville, which hurts our economy, which hurts the local businesses in Asheville that depend on tourism.”
- Democratic Senator Terry Van Duyn also claims the ad uses images from New York and Washington, D.C. to represent the North Carolina city. “I just watched it. The flames are not in Asheville,” Duyn said.
- News 13 reached out to Dan Forest’s campaign about the ad and its purported use of stock images. Campaign Spokesperson Andrew Dunn responded by calling the story “an embarrassing waste of time.”
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