Kesten, Harckham Unfair To Murphy: Campaign Practices Committee

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee has ruledon complaints by incumbent Republican candidate Terrence Murphy against his Democratic challengers, Peter Harckham and Robert Kesten, n the race for New York State Senate, District 40.

Martha Ruiz Jiménez, the spokesperson for the Committee to Elect Terrence Murphy, said in a press release, "Robert Kesten's primary opponent is chasing him in a race to the bottom. They have stopped talking about the issues because they are too busy debasing themselves by making quisquilian statements that are easily disprovable in their quixotic bids to appeal to radical, far-left wing primary voters."

The committee met April 5 to hear complaints from Murphy against Kesten. Here are the findings:

COMPLAINT #1: Senator Terrence Murphy complains that Robert Kesten made the false and misleading statement that “Senator Murphy took nearly $2.5 million in toxic campaign cash in hedge fund PAC money.”

FINDING: UNFAIR. The accusations made by Robert Kesten were not supported by facts. A candidate should make any data he/she presents in campaign literature (or other communications) as specific and detailed as possible. Claims must be accurate with regard to detail and context and clearly indicate the time-periods and the amounts involved, and the source of the information.

COMPLAINT #2: Senator Murphy complains that Robert Kesten made the false and misleading statement that “Senator Murphy…won’t close the carried interest tax loophole…”

FINDING: UNFAIR. There is no evidence that Senator Murphy is in opposition to the carried interest tax loophole.

A candidate is urged to exercise great care when characterizing his/her opponent’s positions. In the absence of a specifically publicly stated position on an issue, a candidate should avoid attributing a position on this issue to his/her opponent. In this case, a statement in support of a piece of the issue is insufficient to declare a stance.

COMPLAINT #3: Senator Murphy complains that Robert Kesten held a press event with signage that read “MURPHY = CORRUPTION.” He contends that this was an unfair campaign practice.

FINDING: UNFAIR. Mr. Kesten attended, but did not hold the press event where he was photographed near a sign that said “Murphy = Corruption.” This photo was posted on Mr. Kesten’s Facebook campaign page. There was no evidence presented which substantiated the corruption charge.

FCPC Guidelines state, “The candidate will neither engage nor be involved with false or misleading attacks upon the character of the opponent.”

The committee met on May 30 to hear Murphy's complaint against Harckham. Murphy was represented by Christopher Arnold. Harckham was represented by James Schmitz and TJ Rogers.

Here is that finding:

COMPLAINT: Senator Terrence Murphy complains that Peter Harckham made the false and misleading statement that Senator Murphy is “the man who nominated him [Donald Trump} at the Republican National Convention.”

FINDING: UNFAIR. The statement was inaccurate.

"Robert Kesten and his primary opponent need to get back to the issues," Ruiz Jiménez said in the press release. "Do they support having an open Democratic primary and letting the voters decide instead of excluding thirty percent of the electorate? Or do they stand with the Governor, who has already decided to allow convicted cop-killers, pedophiles and rapists to vote instead?"

A Harckham campaign spokesman responded: “Democrats across SD 40 are united in their desire to support the candidate who can best defeat Terrence Murphy. Our focus is on taxes, healthcare, women’s rights, the environment, voting rights, the SAFE Act, education and other progressive policies. So when will Senator Murphy step out from behind his campaign’s manufactured distractions and meet in person to debate the real issues important to voters?”

Robert Kesten said, "Name calling by those working for our Republican opponent will not deter us from staying focused on the issues. Our campaign is about providing information on what people care about, including getting big money out of politics, education, jobs, the environment, healthcare and lower taxes. I'm not a professional politician, I have always put people over politics and will continue to do so."

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