Most of the statewide media attention during this election season has focused on the race between Republican Mark Miloscia and Democrat Shari Song because the winner may determine control of the state Senate.

But to people who live in the 30th District, the race between Democratic incumbent Roger Freeman and Republican challenger Jack Dovey has leaped from an interesting and close rematch between two capable candidates to center stage because of one mailing and the spirited debate that has followed.

The entire tone of the campaign has changed dramatically and turned the contest away from typical issues such as transportation, education and taxes and into one that questions what topics are fair to raise in a political campaign, what is insensitive and what is “dirty politics.”

It started with the Democrats mailing out literature that questioned if Dovey was fit for office because of past business practices and whether he had paid his taxes. Dovey tried to downplay the issues and said the issues were old, had been resolved or blamed poor business partners.

He also said his wife handled some of the payments. And in what appeared to be a frustrated defensive reaction to the Democratic attack, Dovey made what some thought was a veiled reference to Freeman’s health.

Freeman announced several months ago that he had cancer and was undergoing treatments. He said at the beginning of the election season that he was strong enough for the race, and the media, this column included, has left the topic alone feeling his comments were sufficient and it was a personal matter.

Dovey also left the issue out of the public arena, although there were some behind-the-scenes comments from some of his supporters.

However, in reaction to the allegations about his business dealings, Dovey made a comment about Freeman’s lack of door-belling. Intended as a reference to Freeman’s health or not, it drew a strong rebuke from 30th District Democratic chair Tim Burns defending Freeman and his cancer treatment schedule as the reason he wasn’t more active.

What followed was a community-wide storm with heated words, letters to the editor, web posts and newspaper articles. The public exchange between Dovey and Burns in the Mirror put Freeman’s health squarely in play as part of the debate, along with Dovey’s business practices.

Freeman is still receiving treatments and continues to sound positive about his situation, although he has acknowledged a cut back on campaigning. Some citizen comments raise legitimate questions about what should be considered fair game in a campaign, while others were ugly and brought out the worst in people’s  desire to advocate for their candidate.

Freeman and Dovey are two nice people. Both were good City Council members. Freeman has been a good legislator and Dovey could be as well. At the beginning of the race Freeman was seen as the favorite in what has always been viewed as a close race.

That is probably still the case today as the attacks on Dovey seemed to have slowed his momentum and hurt his campaign. Also, Dovey’s answers were thought by some observers to be trying to divert responsibility.

But the impact of questions about Freeman’s health are much harder to judge, particularly among independent voters who are the key to victory. This race could be decided in the last few days.

Watch your mailbox; unfortunately, I don’t think the “hits” are done yet.

Bob Roegner, former Auburn mayor: bjroegner@comcast.net.