In the email - in full here - Watts, freelance journalist, broadcaster and co-ordinator of the FOIA Centre, claimed that rival candidate Rich Simcox, a journalist at the Public and Commercial Services Union, had kept his affiliation with the NUJ Left section of the union a secret, because it would affect support from other members.
"Why's he [Simcox] quite so bashful about his 'NUJ Left' comrades? Could it possibly, conceivably be because he knows full well that it would deter many of you from voting for him?" Watts claimed.
"A political faction that calls itself 'NUJ Left' is trying to take control of the NUJ. Don't get me wrong, the 'NUJ Left' doesn't have overall control of the national executive council (NEC) - not yet.
"But that's what they want, and the same applies to other key policy-making bodies in our union. And this election is the key that will enable them to pull it off. They're trying to put their man in charge of the Journalist. With that, they'll be in an ideal position to take control of our union completely."
Watts claimed that Simcox's affiliation with the union group was 'clear evidence' that the NUJ Left 'is attempting to hijack the union'.
"They call themselves a 'coalition'. Where I come from, we use a different c-word: to my mind, they're a cabal," he wrote in the e-mail sent on Monday night.
"It is an astonishingly brazen and jackass attempt. In my many years of investigative journalism, I have never known a group of plotters simply to plonk their game-plan onto a website. Let's just say, this 'NUJ Left' crowd are not exactly clever. And yet, we're on the verge of allowing this bunch to take over our union.
Responding to Watts' claims Simcox said: "I didn't realise my membership of NUJ Left was a secret. Put my name into Google (...) It's not on my website because my supporters are a wide coalition, not all of whom support the NUJ Left. If I'm elected I will of course reflect and represent that breadth in the way I do the job. I don't think it's fair to associate all of my supporters with a group they don't necessarily support."
[Quiz the Journalist editor candidates on the Journalism.co.uk forum]
Members' response
NUJ member Sarah Evans, commenting on the Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog, said Watts' circular was not the sort of thing she 'would have expected from someone applying to be elected as editor of the Journalist.'
"I'm sure Mr Watts has done everything correctly but I would like to ask if the statements by him in the attached email bring the union into disrepute and I would urge the leadership to investigate if it thinks this is the case," she commented.
"I would also like to say that I do not think that Mark Watts' attempt at being elected as the editor of the Journalist is the correct place for him to try such crude party political point scoring."
Writing on the Journalism.co.uk forum, NUJ NEC member for new media and NUJ Left member, Donnacha DeLong defended the union section as 'a diverse group of members with a variety of left-wing views'."I'm an anarchist, there are various other variations of socialists and communists involved. Do you disagree with people coming together to work together on the basis of areas of agreement, rather than the usual factional conflicts of the left?" he wrote.
Another forum user said: "I have no problem with Richard Simcox being an NUJ Left member, but he's done himself absolutely no favours by not being upfront about it. Sorry, but you do have to question why, despite his carefully-worded defence. What's the problem, Richard?"
Speaking on the Journalism.co.uk forum, fellow candidate, Frank Morgan, suggested that while he believes there is 'a bunch of lefties' trying to run the NUJ, there is 'no need for all the McCarthy-style guff'.
"I don't dislike these people, just their politics and/or methods. I belong to no party or grouping - I just want what's best for our members - more pay, better conditions and a free press," he wrote.
NUJ President James Doherty who is backing Morgan in the election, told Journalism.co.uk that any suggestion that the NUJ has 'cowed' to NUJ Left was not true and criticised Watts' email for 'scaremongering'.
While he was aware that his colleagues in the NEC 'have their political views and affiliations', he said the union remains 'fiercely independent of any political party'.
He encouraged any NUJ members who felt worried about politicisation of the union to 'get active within the NUJ's democratic structures'.
In the email Watts suggested that members rank Richard Simcox as eighth on their papers.
An alternative vote system is used to decide the editor as described here by the chair of the NUJ' Professional Training Committee, Chris Wheal. If a voter's first choice candidate is knocked out early, second, third and later choices still influence the outcome.
The winning candidate to replace incumbent editor, Tim Gopsill, will be paid a £51,000-a-year salary. Voting for union members is now open and closes on November 6.
We've created a special section of our bulletin board for you to quiz the would-be editors on their plans for the union title and why they should take the helm. It's already very active, with numerous responses from six of the eight candidates. Add your question by posting a new topic on the forum at this link or by emailing us at laura or judith [at] journalism.co.uk.
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
