There was a production crew on hand to capture rosy comments about Smith from longtime friends for a television commercial to air closer to the election. Photographs were snapped at every opportunity. Smith said she has an uphill battle against Kelly, who was appointed by Gov. Mel Carnahan to the newly created post last spring. Kelly had been chairman of the state s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission. Unlike other contentious campaigns brewing across the state, running for judge falls under a different set of rules.
Candidates can t attack their opponents or the law and can t take stands on important issues.
For this, Smith said she has to take a different approach to campaigning. But, she said, she wouldn t want to be running a race through the gutters anyhow. She said building recognition of her name is key, especially since Kelly was host of a local radio show. Friends and business associates were invited to the barbecue, as well as folks she has meet in the last few months of the campaign - Henry Lane, for example, who, she said, gave advice on where to buy yard signs. Many eating around the picnic tables and sitting on the hay bales can t even vote for Smith because they don t live in the 13th circuit s boundaries.