This week, Hair Consultant candidate Phil "The Lurker" L. and his supporters went on the attack against opponent "Florida Pete" Harrison on many fronts, creating quite a bit of tension and divisiveness on the Friendship Board. Some contend Phil's negative attacks have created a "toxic environment" on this web site.

Mean Spirited Ad Against Pete

It all started when an anonymous supporter of Phil paid for a mean-spirited ad that ridiculed Pete's short hair and described him as "inexperienced" and "unqualified" for the job of Hair Consultant. It ended with his face being distorted in red with black letters reading "Steve's Hair Deserves Better." (See the long banner ad below)

Interestingly, Phil (left photo) did not denounce the ad and refused to apologize to Florida Pete. Instead, he reaped the benefits of the ad and wrote, "The ad itself is completely true ..." on the Arizona Forum and insensitively "Whom do I thank? LOL" on the Members Forum.

"That ad was very nasty and hurtful. I was outraged to see something so critical of another person on the forum." wrote Marcy in Kentucky.

To make matters worse, Phil then "dredged up" old quotations in the past two elections about Florida Pete in a new posting on the Friendship Board, but failed to mention he was actually a strong supporter of Pete and voted for him in the 2006 election.

"Phil is being a pig right now." insisted Kansas Kelly, a long-time regular of this web site, "I think he's a jackass. First he's saying he didn't start the nasty campaigning, but he was first to start that post on the forums. He shot himself in the foot."

"Phil reminds me of that annoying, brown-nosing, apple polishing kid in high school that everyone wanted to beat up." added Kelly, "If we'd gone to high school together, I totally would have beaten him up."

Steve, the webmaster, is maintaining neutrality as a matter of policy throughout the election, but did express his disappointment in Phil: "I just find it disappointing what Phil is doing. He has clearly gone negative."

Confronted directly on the issue, Phil wrote:

"As for the sometimes negativity ... we have been very disciplined on tempering our responses to their negative subjects and I have only pointed certain things out factually ... it is what it is."

(Photo Above: The negative ad against Florida Pete that is currently being displayed through many pages on this web site.)

Phil's decision to go negative so early seemed wise considering how badly he was trailing in the latest poll, where he was losing to Pete 53% to 28% with 19% of voters undecided. After the attacks, his campaign gained some momentum with public endorsements coming in from web site "regulars" such as Glenda ("Leyna's Mom"), Lisa in Oklahoma, Dave-O and two women in Norway ("Nerdolita" and "Blooming Norwegian").

Phil's reputation of negative campaigning and tearing people down was solidified when Nerdolita in Norway posted a derisive image (right image) of Pete's head being crushed by a foot. Many considered it to be inappropriate.

"I was shocked and surprised by her callousness." stated one visitor of the forums who requested anonymity.

The position of Hair Consultant was created in October 1998 so that one person could be a coach, advice-giver and encourager for Steve in growing his long, naturally curly hair as long as possible. Since then, the position has changed with the times and now includes the Hair Consultant being a "public figure" on this web site. There have been 16 Hair Consultants in the history of Steve's hair.

This year, the Hair Consultant election will be held on April 12-15, 2007, and all are encouraged to vote. Visit the 2007 Hair Consultant election page for more details about the candidates.