Develop New Albany should refrain from allowing its ribbon cuttings to be commandeered as Gahan-4-Life campaign appearances.

As our junior editor Bluegill correctly notes:

“Whenever a business or organization puts a politician front and center for photo ops they are promoting that politician. The choice to do so is a reflection of their values. Don’t want the association? Don’t do political photo ops.”

Me thinks Develop New Albany very much wants to promote the incumbent, who has remade DNA into an arm of the propaganda commissariat.

I'm reminded of the former New Albany Tribune's policy regarding guest columnists, paraphrased: Elected representatives might be a regular guest columnist by virtue of their office, but once they're running for election, they must take a hiatus.

Develop New Albany hasn't ever been very good with either consistency or ethics. Our purported Main Street organization always has declined to participate in civic questions of importance, citing its non-profit status and supposed inability to be involved with "politics."

But what exactly are these photo-ops? And what was DNA's advocacy of the farmers market buildout a few years back, if not political?

In this instance DNA should for once raise the bar: once declared, candidates for office cannot appear at ribbon cuttings, because such appearances constitute gratis campaign advertisements.

It's not like the former veneer salesman Jeff Gahan knows thing one about independent businesses, or has had anything whatever to do with independent businesses opening. Suddenly when it comes re-election time, he materializes from his Down Low Bunker to claim credit for openings, anniversaries and photosynthesis.

I'm not a non-profit, so altogether now: #FireGahan2019