Campaign Practices Committee Rules Bramson Ad 'Unfair'

WESTCHESTER COUNTY FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES COMMITTEE

914-834-0615/ faircampaign@optonline.net

November 5, 2011                                                            
Contact: Evelyn M. Stock, Chair

Findings in the Complaint of

Richard St. Paul v. Noam Bramson

Candidates for New Rochelle Mayor

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee met on November 5, 2011, to consider the complaint of Richard St. Paul, Republican, against Noam Bramson, Democrat, both candidates for mayor of New Rochelle. No hearing was held.

COMPLAINT:

Mr. St. Paul complained against the Bramson campaign that a campaign mailer distributed to residents of New Rochelle did not identify who sent and paid for the literature and that the literature was written in a manner to mislead recipients into thinking Republicans were the source for it. He said the literature bore the same postage permit number as another piece of Bramson literature.

FINDING: UNFAIR

One of the principles of the Fair Campaign Practices Committee reads: “The candidate will clearly identify by name the source of all advertisements and campaign literature published and distributed.”

Based on the fact that Mayor Bramson was quoted in an article in the Saturday November 5 edition of the Journal News admitting that his campaign organization was the source of the literature, the Committee ruled that the Bramson campaign organization committed an unfair practice, and canceled a hearing it had scheduled for Sunday regarding Mr. St. Paul against the Bramson campaign.

If a candidate or campaign wishes to quote from a Finding, the Committee requires that it be quoted in its entirety. The Committee regards selective quotation of its Findings as a violation of fair campaign practices. 

Committee Members: Evelyn M.  Stock (Chair), Miriam Cohen (Coordinator), Dennis Chillemi. Dan Franklin, LaRuth Gray, Victor Goldberg, Susan Pace Guma, Milton Hoffman, Lee Kinnally, Robert Kirkwood, Polly M. Kuhn, Ernest Prince, Susan Schwarz, Lorelei A. Vargas.

Ex officio: Representatives of the Republican Party, Democratic Party, Independence Party, Conservative Party, Working Families Party.

The purpose of the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee is to promote a climate in which candidates conduct honest and fair campaigns. The Committee encourages candidates to conduct campaigns openly and fairly, to discuss issues, to refrain from dishonest and defamatory attacks, and not to use campaign materials that distort the facts.

The Committee does not sit as a censor of political discussion nor as a body to enforce election law or make legal decisions. Its task is to accept written complaints about alleged unfair campaign practices and to determine whether the action complained about is indeed unfair. Among other things, the Committee will consider to be unfair any campaign practice that is a misstatement of a material fact or that misleads the public.

The Committee has no power to compel anyone to stop doing what it has found it be unfair. If the Committee acts on a complaint, it will release its findings to inform the public. The Committee may choose not to consider a complaint; in that case, a hearing is not held and the parties to the complaint are so notified. 

Statement of Principles of the Committee, as stated in its Manual, available at www.faircampaignpractices.org. The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee believes that candidates should conduct their campaigns in accordance with the following principles:

• The candidate will conduct a campaign for public office openly and fairly. The candidate will discuss the issues and participate in fair debate with respect to his/her views and qualifications.
• The candidate will neither engage in nor be involved with unfair or misleading attacks upon the character of an opponent, nor will the candidate engage in invasions of personal privacy unrelated to fitness for office.           
• The candidate will not participate in or condone any appeal to prejudice.
• The candidate will neither use nor be involved with the use of any campaign material or advertisements that misrepresents or distorts the facts.
• The candidate will clearly identify by name the source of all advertisements and campaign literature published and distributed. (More)
• The candidate will not abuse the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee process in order to obtain political advantage.

The candidate will publicly repudiate materials or actions from any individual or group that would violate this Statement of Principles.