At the risk of overpopulating the page on the Mayoral race (but today's coverage prompting my subject), I’m moved to jot down what I consider to be a couple of important points [My apologies to Joshua Fenton-Glynn as he got there ahead of me with a somewhat similar theme].

At a time when the public feels politics is already in the gutter, we shouldn’t try re-electing a Mayor primarily based on thrashing his opponent – especially when the Mayor has a record of achievement to sell (and super especially when disenfranchising voters and further reducing turnout opens the door to the more unsavoury electoral options!!).

Boris Johnson is not stupid. Don’t be taken in by the image to the extent you underestimate an opponent. We’ve all watched in horror as George Bush used to score electoral win after electoral win by lowering the bar of expectation so it was easy to hop over it. Let’s not repeat that with the Conservative candidate (yes, yes I know he campaigned for Bush…).

Johnson is not a racist – it is slander to suggest he is. I see where it comes from and why it appears to be an easy sell but I’m afraid it’s hypocrisy.

I suspect that calling him a racist plays on his yammering, foppish style and tries to align it to the stereotype of the upper-class, little-Englander, intolerant, Southern Tory stereotype – but remember, to play on peoples’ fears of this stereotype is just as cynical, bigoted and intolerant a manoeuvre as when it is perpetrated on BMEs, Muslims, Catholics or women.

There’s no doubt that Johnson’s satirical article had a cackhanded use of the word “piccaninny” and a reckless reference to “water melon smiles” but that does not a racist make. I advise caution before making such an assertion too easily as crying wolf again and again makes it difficult to tell it from the real thing.

The real point here is that beyond the faux outrage and point-scoring between Labour and the Conservatives on race there is a determined and growing group competing in the May elections and they’ve made their position on race and integration perfectly clearly. A party that says “thank you very much” when the main parties disenfranchise mainstream voters by squabbling over non-issues and “he said-she said” arguments.

If there was ever a time to avoid personality politics, which is what we’re allowing this race to descend into, this is it.

Of course people have talked Ken’s record up – I’m not disputing that. I won’t rehearse the arguments made for Ken Livingstone or the many others against Boris Johnson but anyone reading posts over the last few months will see that there have been much, much more of the latter than the former.

My point is that from the view of the impartial observer (whom we're trying to win over) that massive imbalance toward negativity and the way it is prosecuted undermines Ken’s campaign, our argument and the Party.