UPDATED: Worst. Mail. Ever. Kenyatta Hit Piece Pictures Ori in a Hot Tub

Effective? Maybe. Distasteful? Definitely.

[Updated: 8:25 p.m.] Ori Feibush says the photo of him reclining in a hot tub was probably taken from his girlfriend’s Facebook page. He says the shot was taken at a hotel in Florida, not at his house (which, he says, does not have a hot tub).

Kenyatta Johnson spokesman Mark Nevins pushed back on Citified’s description of the mailer as “distasteful,” characterizing it as just “a funny picture of a guy in a hot tub.” Says Nevins: “The most distasteful thing in this campaign so far has been Ori’s use of the word ‘retard’ to describe Mayor Nutter. This is the guy who launched his campaign in Philadelphia magazine by insulting Kenyatta, by calling him a ‘poverty pimp,’ and a terrible human being who uses his office for evil. So it’s not exactly like Ori occupies the high ground.”

And how does Feibush feel about the mailer? “I couldn’t even get mad at it. I was laughing so hard. He spent $20,000 to let people know I haven’t gone to the gym in a while.”

[Original]

Well, this is a new one.

Kenyatta Johnson’s campaign has just blanketed the Second Council District with a hard-hitting piece of mail attacking Ori Feibush as a self-serving developer “running for City Council to enrich himself.”

It’s a mean piece of mail, a classic example of negative campaigning. But what really sets it apart is an image of Feibush relaxing in what looks like a hot tub, with negative news headlines superimposed over the image.

The obvious goal of the mailer is to make Feibush look like a rich developer (which he is) out of touch with the community he wants to represent (which is debatable). That’s probably solid campaign strategy, but this hot tub shot feels like it goes over the line.

Feibush wasn’t immediately available for comment, and neither was Johnson’s campaign manager.