When Eugene Parks said he would stay out of Madison’s mayoral race, it did not mean he would keep from getting involved.

In a fax he sent to several local newspapers Sunday, Parks criticized media and candidates for allegedly making an issue of Mayor Sue Bauman’s “style” rather than her policies and record and accused Bauman’s challengers of bending to special interests.

“There is prejudice in full view in this election,” Parks wrote. “But more important, the election is about not who we elect as mayor but who is willing to cater to the wealthy and connected.”

Although Parks raised questions about Paul Soglin’s intention to remain an advisor for Lincoln Financial, he did not directly accuse any of the candidates of violating campaign laws or other crimes.

Bauman’s campaign struggles and image troubles have been well publicized. She has drawn attention during her term for appearing abrasive at public meetings and using the press to quarrel with some city managers. Despite being the only candidate with a starting purse, she lagged raising funds over the last six months.

But the mayor refused to intimate, as Parks did, that she is handicapped because she is a woman and Jewish.

“People think I’m vulnerable because of this style thing,” Bauman said.

According to Parks, wealthy financial contributors like developers, union lobbies and other interests are staying away from Bauman because she demonstrated too much control while in office.

“‘You can think you run the city,'” Parks said, mimicking the so-called Fat Cat speculators. “‘But we want you to know who runs this city.'”

The latest campaign-finance reports demonstrate that Bauman has gained fewer contributions over the last six months than all three of the other non-exempt challengers.

Davy Mayer and Will Sandstrom have signed exemptions claiming they will not raise more than $1,000.

Parks’s comments were not directed at Mayer or Sandstrom because, he said, they are not “real candidates” and not part of the “orgy” of campaign spending.

The other candidates, including Dave Cieslewicz and Bert Zipperer, said they founded their campaigns in part because of flaws in Bauman’s policies and plans during her six-year term, but also because of her behavior.

“We have disagreed on the way Sue has handled some substantive issues and not just style,” Cieslewicz said.

“We are absolutely not focusing on personality,” Zipperer agreed.

A representative for Paul Soglin said he was out of town until Tuesday and unavailable for comment, but Soglin has been the most vocal in attacking Bauman’s policies as well as her style.

Soglin, the former mayor, has been known for arrogance and clashes with staff, just like Bauman. But unlike the current mayor, Soglin ended up with an endorsement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

“Paul Soglin is one of the most acerbic people in the city of Madison,” Parks said. “It wouldn’t happen to anyone but a person of color like myself or Bauman, a woman who is also a Jew.”

“Paul certainly was known to yell at people,” Bauman said.

Saturday, a divide between Bauman and city officials further crystallized when The Capital Times printed scathing criticism from Common Council president Matt Sloan and Ald. Mike Verveer, Dist. 4.

Bauman said Verveer was upset with her because he did not get a committee appointment he wanted. After his “hissy fit,” she said, she appointed him.

These were curious comments from the mayor, part of whose unpleasant reputation stems from disparaging remarks she made in local newspapers about City Attorney Eunice Gibson and Fire Chief Debra Amesqua.

“Is that a personality or a legitimate thing to raise?” Zipperer asked. “That is a topic of conversation everywhere in this city. A lot of people feel that’s not a personality thing. But if you’re going to be someone’s boss, speak to them about personnel matters in private.”

Bauman said when Soglin entered his second mayoral term in 1989, officials learned of committee disappointments by reading about them in the newspaper.

To some, Parks included, arguing about the finer points of these candidates is useless. They all identify with the political left, and Bauman’s challengers readily admit to supporting a number of her initiatives in the past.

Parks ran against Bauman with a significantly contrasting platform in 1999 but was handily defeated. Parks had made public plans to challenge Bauman’s job again this year but did not submit nomination papers at the Jan. 7 deadline, citing family matters.

When he dropped out of the race, Parks endorsed Bauman.

He points at her overseeing of monumental city construction projects, the Town of Madison annexation compromise, State Street Redesign initiative, and municipal strike-free record.

“If Gene’s point is that style doesn’t matter, I think it matters a great deal how issues are dealt with,” Cieslewicz said.

But Parks said none of the candidates have made a strong argument against Bauman’s policies.

“They’re not running on issues. They’re running on sexism, classism,” Parks said. “What we’ve got here is a failure to understand what this campaign is about.

“And this campaign is about hoity-toities,” he added, meaning financial influence has crept into the mayoral contest.

“I do think there are certain powers-that-be that tend to put a fair amount of money into races,” Zipperer said. “We think the city of Madison operates as a group of insiders lobbied by other insiders.”

But contributors who have donated to Bauman in the past are shying away. Other candidates said Bauman has been unable to tap those contributions either because they were unhappy with the way she represented their interests in the past or because it is sometimes unclear where she leans.

“There’s a sense that there is no coherent agenda coming out of City Hall,” Cieslewicz said.

“I think she’s been wishy-washy on issues, and she doesn’t have any clear base of support,” said Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, who supports Zipperer. “People see that it’s clear you never know from one day to the next which way she’s going to go on an issue.”

Most of the moneyed interests have flocked to the other known commodity, Soglin. With more than $78,000 raised since he announced his candidacy in August, Soglin has been called “a landlord and development favorite.”

To Eugene Parks, the current financial distribution belies “hypocrisy” in the mayoral race. Money is the only motivator for the handful of challengers to run, even though they oppose few of the mayor’s policies, he said.

But Bauman, confident that her political record speaks for itself and her popular support is not reflected in her campaign contributions, sees evidence of something else.

“The city is in great shape,” Bauman said. “It would be a good time to take over.”