 By Peter Mantius
STAFF WRITER Democrat Michael Coles asked 38 Georgia television stations late Monday to stop airing a “false and defamatory” TV campaign commercial aimed at him by his rival, GOP Sen. Paul Coverdell. The Coverdell ad, entitled “Soap,” claims the Great American Cookie Co., which Coles founded, required company employees to “pay to take leave to care for a dying relative.” The ad features an elderly woman -- a paid actress -- gesturing with a bar of soap, saying: “Michael Coles, you better start telling the truth, because you’re going to have your mouth washed out with this soap.” An unseen male announcer then levels the charge before the actress shakes her head in silent disapproval at the end. Coverdell based his charge on a provision in a handbook given to managers at the cookie company. It said the company may extend its group health insurance for an employee during a leave of absence if the employee pays both the company and employee portions of the premium. But David L. Balser, an attorney for Coles, said in a letter faxed to station managers that the rule was never given to employees or enforced by the company. Balser said the provision was superseded by a health care plan guide given to all employees that said the company would continue to pay its portion of an employee’s premium during family medical leaves of absence. When asked to cite instances where cookie company employees were required to pay both portions of the premium, Coverdell spokesman Dan McLagan declined. “This was clearly his company’s policy,” McLagan said. “The truth may hurt Mr. Coles, but our ads are 100 percent accurate.” Balser said the ad was “blatantly false” and should be pulled immediately. “This advertisement is false and defamatory, and each time that it airs, the injury to Mr. Coles’ reputation increases,” Balser wrote. Balser said he expects the station managers to consult with their attorneys before responding. |
