Paper Rescinds Mahoney Endorsement
Calls for embattled Rep. to end campaign.
October 16, 2008 -- The Palm Beach Post rescinded its endorsement today of Rep. Tim Mahoney and called for him to withdraw from the election.
The newspaper's switch marks the first major Mahoney backer to publicly call on him to leave the race.
"It is rare that a newspaper rescinds an endorsement, but in the race for District 16, The Post no longer can support U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney," the editorial stated.
The nearly unprecedented move comes after ABC News revealed this week that Mahoney had secretly paid a former mistress and campaign staffer, Patricia Allen, $121,000 to prevent a sexual harassment lawsuit as well as helped lobby for federal funds for another county official with whom he was allegedly having an affair.
On Sunday The Post had endorsed Mahoney saying that "the very unlikely winner in 2006 very much deserves to be reelected in 2008. "
But since the reports, the newspaper said that Mahoney had been "far too evasive" in response to the payments to his former mistress and failed to answer directly about either alleged affair.
"His actions - and his lack of action - show that he can't be trusted," the editorial stated. "Considering how he got to Washington, he should have known better than most how important trust and ethics are."
Though the paper has traditionally favored Democrats, the paper urged citizens to vote for Mahoney's Republican opponent, Tim Rooney, a former military lawyer.
