In the heat of the campaign, Hampton made a charge in 30,000 fliers circulated "on the eve of the municipal primary" that Healy had at one time been a registered member of the Communist Party. Healy went to the city attorney's office and demanded issuance of a complaint against Hampton for criminal libel, and Hampton quickly made an "unequivocal retraction" of his charge. The record does not show whether Hampton had confused Ned R. Healy with local labor leader Don R. Healy, whom Hampton had accused of being a communist just three years previous.