House District 56 state representative candidate Muhammad Ali Hasan, a Beaver Creek Republican, has hired former Vail Chamber and Business Association executive director Kaye Ferry as his campaign manager.
Hasan, 27, said Ferry, who resigned as director of the Vail Chamber last month amid a storm of controversy over her statements to Colorado Independent about the “Front Range riff-raff” likely to inundate Vail as a result of the new Epic Pass season ski pass, will be one of the reasons he will win the state House race against Dillon Democrat Christine Scanlan.
“She’s the campaign manager; she’s the go-to person,” Hasan said of Ferry, an outspoken critic of local government and Vail Resorts in her weekly column in the Vail Daily. “I rely on her very deeply. She’s a wonderful friend and in my opinion we’re going to win because of her.”
Hasan said he is not at all concerned that Ferry’s past controversial statements in numerous publications around the state will have a negative impact on his campaign. Hasan split with his previous publicist, former Vail Daily reporter Alison Miller, after Miller sought a restraining order against Hasan, whom she alleged was stalking her. Miller later withdrew the request.
“One thing I’ve seen about politics is I really have a deep faith that you control your own message, so if you spend all of your time focusing on silly articles and doing spin control, then that’s what people are going to see your campaign as – just silly and spin control,” said Hasan, whose issues with Miller were featured in Denver’s Westword weekly and the Denver Post.
“And at the end of the day, I’ve already seen that people will just make stuff up against you,” Hasan said. “If they can’t get good stuff to hit you on, then they’ll make it up, so bad press is inevitable, negative press is inevitable.”
Ferry did not return a phone call Wednesday requesting comment.
