Fair Campaign Committee Hears Rackman vs. Fried

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee met on September 3, 2015, to hear the complaint of Shari Rackman against Liz Fried, candidates for the position of New Rochelle City Council Member. Ms. Rackman was represented by her husband, Elliott Rackman. Ms. Fried was represented by her campaign manager, Barry Caro.

COMPLAINT:
Ms. Rackman complained that the use of the language “Endorsed by the Democratic Party” on numerous pieces of campaign materials for Liz Fried, as well as the statement, “Liz won the Democratic designation over incumbent Shari Rackman at a recent convention…,” were misleading because no such vote was called for, or tallied, at the New Rochelle Democratic Convention on May 6, 2015. She further contends that Ms. Fried was endorsed by the New Rochelle Democratic Committee, not by the Democratic Party.

FINDING: Fair
The minutes of the May 6, 2015 meeting of the New Rochelle Democratic Convention state that Liz Fried was, “designated by the Committee as the Democratic Party Candidate for City Council District 6 of the New Rochelle City Council.” This designation stands until the primary election, at which time it may be upheld or overturned.

ABOUT THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES COMMITTEE

Committee Members: Victor J. Goldberg, [Chair], Miriam Cohen [Coordinator], Paul C. Atkinson, Elizabeth Bermel, Gisele Castro, Daniel S. Franklin, Jr., LaRuth Gray, Susan Guma, Lee Kinnally, Robert C. Kirkwood, Polly Kuhn, Philip M. Maley, Harry Phillips III, Joy Rosenzweig, Susan Schwarz, Evelyn M. Stock
Party representatives (ex officio): Republican Party, Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Working Families Party, Independence Party, Green Party, Reform Party

The purpose of the Westchester Fair Campaign 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 to 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 notified.

Statement of Principles of the Committee, as stated in its Manual, is 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 her/his 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 an appeal to prejudice.
• The candidate will neither use nor be involved with the use of any campaign material or advertisements that misrepresent or distorts the facts.
• The candidate will clearly identify by name the source of all advertisements and campaign literature published and distributed.
• 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 the Statement of Principles.