Binkley not fit to be governor

We are deeply disappointed in the conduct of candidate for governor John Binkley in the 11th hour of the primary campaign. The mailer that landed in mailboxes around the Valley in recent days, with an unauthorized reprinting of a 1997 Frontiersman editorial is deceptive both in its content and its

presentation.

It's bad enough that the man who wants voters to believe he is the candidate to carry the banner of ethics would stoop to digging up years-old irrelevant dirt on another candidate. That he would tryto pass it off as something we mailed, instead of properly owning it as his campaign literature, is shameful.

On a Monday afternoon talk radio show, Binkley defended the content of the mailout as a legitimate reflection of what Alaskans might expect from one of his opponents. Regardless of its age, he said, the opinion expressed reveals a track record that voters should be concerned about.

We wonder if he feels the same way about his support for Democrat Tony Knowles in 1998.

Voters will have the final say today. But we think more recent events paint a better, more accurate picture of all the candidates and, more important, their character. And this latest round of dirty campaigning reveals a portrait of Binkley that is, quite simply, not pretty.