Last week, I received a robo call from Middlesex County Sheriff (and former state representative) Peter Koutoujian. In the recording, Koutoujian notes that he’s now been in office for a year and directs us to a website to learn more about all the swell stuff he’s doing for us.
Knowing that Koutoujian is — shall we say — something of a self-promoter, I wasn’t that surprised that he might be laying the groundwork for his November campaign.
But then I revived the exact same robo call from Koutoujian again on Thursday.
And then again on Friday.
Robo calls are annoying. The exact same call three times from a guy months before the election is over-the-top.
To make matters worse, I just listened to the call again and noticed that the URL Koutoujian directs us to in the recording is for the sheriff’s office, not his campaign site.
So is Koutoujian using taxpayer dollars to call me and tell me how fantastic he is three times in one week? Or is he using campaign dollars to send us to his official taxpayer funded site? I’m not sure which is worse, but I do wish he would stop.
The message starts with a booming voice saying “This is the Sheriff of Middlesex County…”. First thing I thought of was glad we’re current with all our bills. Care to put more anxiety in our community Mr. Sheriff?? What exactly are you doing using voter phone listings for non-campaign promotion?
I was really, really pissed off by it. Good way to convince me to vote against someone.
I have also gotten two robo calls from him and it’s very annoying. I plan on calling his office on Monday to voice my complaint. I suggest we all do.
If you’re going to call and complain, I suggest you record your own robo calls to do it.
I was sure my ankle bracelet triggered the automatic call (I wasn’t that far away from the house) but then I realized I wasn’t the only one getting the calls.
What’s he running for now? Isn’t this a bit unseasonable? Strange, Too
Feeling neglected. I only got called once. Can anyone tell what list(s) he’s working off? Who hasn’t gotten called?
Any ideas about what office he’s laying the groundwork for?
2014 Lieutenant Governor?
@Terry: He needs to be elected to the office this November. I say “elected” because he was appointed the first time.
@Julia: There’s still more than seven months before the election, I suspect you’ll get a few more calls.
I only got one call also, but thought it was way over-the-top even for Peter Koutoujian. Everything about it sounded like a campaign call.
I’m feeling neglected and ignored. I haven’t got any annoying Koutoujian calls yet.
The only difference I see between this tactic and what Tim Cahill did with lottery ads is the cost.
Actually Hoss, we don’t know who paid for these calls. Or at least I don’t. If they’re tax payer funded, then yes the parallel may be similar to when the lottery ran ads featuring Cahill talking about how swell the lottery is during his campaign.
But, don’t forget, Cahill campaign got into hot water for coordinating this effort.
At the moment (again depending on who paid and organized this) that would appear to the the biggest difference.
Greg, I didn’t save the call — but if the call was made for campaign purposes with campaign funds, doesn’t it need to state that specifically? At least w Cahill — he had a business purpose for his ads. But again, I didn’t save the call and I pressed delete as soon as I realized the Sheriff wasn’t coming so I don’t know exactly what he was doing.
Jerry — So you don’t got a water meter, you don’t get visits by the snow plows, you don’t get plastic sleeves with rocks and Jesus Saves ads on the lawn, and you don’t get calls from the Sheriff? Neglected and ignored, or do you here Rod Serling’s voice?
@Hoss: That’s why he has so much free time to give tours of Hemlock Gorge.
Greg – There has been someone sleeping on the Echo platform (I’m not joking). I think it’s a young person getting in touch with nature but he could be a blogger
@Hoss – “or do you here Rod Serling’s voice?”
So that’s what those voices are.
Maybe BOA President Scott Lennon will ring in to clarify the funding of these robocalls. Scott is the Middlesex Sheriff Dept. auditor.
We got this annoying, self-serving call twice. They are persuasive — we are convinced not to vote for him.
Spoke too soon. Had the message on my answering machine when I got home today, so that’s two for me.
Wow, I was thinking of robocalling this year, but after seeing this thread I’ve changed my mind.
Tom – most people hate political robocalls. I don’t know anyone who likes them or finds them persuasive (except in making them feel more negative about the candidate). The only ones I see any possible use for are the ones reminding people to go to the polls.
I especially hate one that starts by saying it’s from the Middlesex Sheriff’s office, thereby getting me concerned that it might be an important safety announcement, only to find out it’s self-promotion.
Have to wonder if anyone’s ever done any research on their effectiveness. I’d bet that if they did, it would find that they do more harm than good and are a waste of money.
As soon as I realize it’s a recording, I hang up, which doesn’t take long. I also flip the channel as soon as I see a contrived political ad come on. The only meaningful things to go by are debates, interviews, and whatever you can learn about the candidates’ lives and records, if they have records. What they promise is also irrelevant. They all promise better education, better health care, more fiscal responsibility, a chicken in every pot, a strong foreign policy, etc. I’ve heard campaign speeches from 50 years ago, and they sound like they just recycle them today.
MGWA, thanks for the input. I have a strong feeling you’re 100% correct. But, I wonder how to communicate to a district as large as 800,000 voters as cheaply as possible.
Hety Barry, hell must have frozen over, we agree on something:).
brrrr. it’s cold here. 😉