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Calls waiting Candidates' messages get nuisance tag

By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer

November 3, 2006

Mary Sotos is glad she doesn't have an answering machine.

Not that she's anti-social or a Luddite; the Greenwich senior said she wouldn't have any room for messages because of a barrage of automated political phone calls this fall.

"Oh, they're awful," said Sotos, a Republican in her 80s who lives at Putnam Hill. "I don't even pay attention. I got two just before lunchtime. I got one Sunday night."

"Robo calls," as they are commonly known, are seen as an increasingly cheap and time-saving alternative to direct mail or television advertisements by many candidates and political parties.

"They're very effective for rapid response purposes," said Ed Patru, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "If your opponent makes a false charge, false accusation, distorts the record, it's very easy to respond quickly."

In the highly competitive 4th Congressional District race between Republican incumbent Christopher Shays and Democrat Diane Farrell, the NRCC has flooded the area with calls attacking Farrell's record as former Westport first selectwoman.

Farrell's spokeswoman, Jan Spiegel, said the calls are misleading.

"If you hang on, you get an earful about how Diane Farrell eats babies and kicks the cat," Spiegel said facetiously. "The district's just been inundated. I think at this point people have a right to be annoyed about it."

Shays campaign manager Michael Sohn said the 19-year incumbent has condemned the calls and has been victimized by similar calls produced by organizations that support Farrell.

"They're a cheap, dirty way to campaign," said Sohn, who added that Shays' campaign had not paid for any robo calls during the current race.

Greenwich Libertarian Phil Maymin, the other candidate in the race, said he also has been the target of robo calls discouraging would-be voters from supporting him.

"They offend and they intrude on people's privacy, just like Democrats and Republicans typically do," Maymin said.

Farrell's campaign said it just recently put out its first robo call of the campaign featuring a testimonial from actor Paul Newman, a Westport resident.

Maymin questioned the effectiveness of the ad, however.

"I buy his salad dressing, if it helps," Maymin said of Newman, who recorded a similar message for Senate hopeful Ned Lamont during his Democratic primary campaign.

The calls cost only 4 cents per connection and are placed by a computer that can detect whether a live person or machine answers, allowing the computer to leave a message.

Al Staerkel, CEO of Interactive Telesis, said his Carlsbad, Calif., firm can place up to 1,000 calls in less than a minute with an 84 percent connection rate.

"What our platform is designed to do is rally the candidate's base to get out the vote," said Staerkel, whose firm has clients across the political spectrum and country, including Connecticut.

Some political analysts expect the volume of calls to only increase.

"It just seems like when you're in the last few days of a campaign, that's where people dump their money," said Yale University political science professor Donald Green. "They have the capacity to reach millions of people. The only question is whether they're effective."

Dave Wasserman, who has been following the 4th District and other House races for the Crystal Ball Web site of University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato, said robo calls have a limited effect compared to traditional canvassing.

"I really think that robo calls are wishful thinking on the part of campaigns that think, with the push of a button, they can reach every voter," Wasserman said.

Steven Sakabinos, 78, a Republican from Cos Cob, said the calls were not worth the effort. "I don't bother listening," Sakabinos said. "I made up my mind a long time ago."

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose office commonly receives complaints about political robo calls, characterized the practice as a nuisance.

"They seem to be timed to be more intrusive and invasive than most other calls," said Blumenthal, who is considering asking Congress to ban political robo calls under anti-telemarketing legislation.

Fairfield University political science professor John Orman warned that automated calls can backfire.

"Usually, they happen during dinnertime, when people are just getting home from a long commute from the city," said Orman, who has received many calls himself.

"The one I got yesterday was from Paul Newman," Orman said. "I've gotten them from Bill Clinton and people who have lost a son in Iraq. The test is, how long will I listen before I erase?"