Jehan Gordon held a press conference today. She didn’t announce any new policy ideas. She didn’t announce her stance on any controversial matters in the 92nd district.
No, she announced that she was once convicted of shoplifting:
“As a teen I was charged with a misdemeanor for attempting to take a bracelet from a store,” Gordon said. “This life experience taught me a lot. It is one of the reasons why I work so diligently with young people today because I know what it’s like to be young and impressionable.”
The article says this happened in Champaign county when she was 18; she’s now 26.
What possible reason could there be for her to announce this? Was someone threatening to reveal it to the press, and this was a preemptive confession? Or is this a campaign strategy designed to endear her to voters for her transparency and openness?
Perhaps a more pertinent question would be, should we care? Is this piece of information relevant to her candidacy? It was a misdemeanor, on par with a traffic citation. Should we be questioning candidates about their speeding tickets, too?
The graduation issue was pertinent because she made a claim in a campaign ad that was false. The shoplifting conviction, on the other hand, happened eight years ago. I can’t help but think this was a tactical error. She didn’t need to reveal this information, and it would likely have backfired if someone else tried to make an issue of it. By calling attention to it herself, it gets everyone talking about her faults instead of her virtues or her policy initiatives. It’s a distraction that she’s brought on herself.
I think this revelation, despite her attempt to go on the offense with it, and despite the fact that it’s arguably irrelevant, will end up hurting her candidacy more than it helps.
