The two sides clashed Monday over the increasingly popular tactic of "tracking," where campaign workers with video cameras follow opposing candidates, hoping to catch a YouTube-worthy blunder to be exploited for political gain.
The latest exchange in what is expected to be a hotly contested senate race stemmed from a Collins parade appearance Saturday.
Democrats, who are working to help U.S. Rep. Tom Allen unseat the Republican incumbent in November 2008, sent a man with a video camera to record Collins' every move. They said the tactic is a way to track what candidates are saying publicly and should be expected in a high-profile race.
Collins' campaign disagreed. Her chief of staff sent an open letter to Allen's campaign Monday, asking the congressman to persuade Democrats to abandon the strategy.
"Tactics such as tracking demean the political process, contribute to voter cynicism, and have no place in the type of substantive issues-oriented campaigns that our voters deserve," wrote Steve Abbott, Collins' chief of staff.
Democrats questioned why Collins would object to being filmed in public. Allen's campaign manager said trackers have no more access to candidates than members of the press, and the congressman has made no effort to prevent Republican operatives from attending his events.
"(Allen's) not embarrassed about anything he would say in public," Valerie Martin said.
Political operatives said recording opponents -- looking for contradictions, evaluating weaknesses -- has been common in high-profile races for two decades.
The tactic became more visible recently, receiving a considerable amount of media attention last year after a highly-publicized campaign misstep in Virginia.
Then-U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., used the obscure slur "macaca" when he identified a tracker, employed by Democratic opponent James Webb, to a crowd of supporters. The Webb staffer, a Virginian of Indian ancestry, recorded the comment and media coverage of the incident dogged Allen's re-election campaign for days.
Marv Druker, a University of Southern Maine political scientist, said the emergence of Internet sites such as YouTube has amplified the impact of recorded campaign blunders.
"It just magnifies it. As soon as it gets on the Web, people pick it up all over the country," said Druker, a professor at USM's Lewiston-Auburn campus.
The Maine Democratic Party sent Rick Redmond, an employee, to a parade in Stockton Springs on Saturday with a handheld video camera.
Redmond recorded Collins as she marched in the parade. Photographs released by Collins' re-election campaign show Redmond within a few feet of the senator while she walked the parade route.
Redmond attended the event to gather information about what Collins is saying about her campaign and her opponent, said Carol Andrews, spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party.
Andrews said he was told to stay out of Collins' personal space, but that her public conversations with supporters were fair game.
"If you're having a private conversation, you pull somebody aside," Andrews said.
Abbott said Redmond got too close while Collins spoke to constituents during the event. When Collins stepped into a staff member's car to leave the parade, he said, Redmond apparently filmed the license plate number.
"What purpose is there for somebody to be following her around wherever she goes, sticking a camera in her face five feet away?" Abbott asked.
Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:
eaull@pressherald.com
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