City Council to consider code of ethics

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press December 12, 2000

By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The usefulness of a code of ethics for candidates seeking public office will be one of the first issues the newly organized Palmdale City Council will discuss Wednesday.

The code, which was created by the state Legislature and adopted by the city, sets a voluntary code of conduct for candidates in campaigns. That conduct asks them to refrain from character defamation, libel, slander or scurrilous attacks against their opponents, their families or their personal lives, and prohibits attacks based on race, sex, religion, age or physical health.

"Based on observations from the last election, I'm going to be asking the council to consider if we should look to modify that document or if we should eliminate that document," Mayor Jim Ledford said Monday. "That was probably the nastiest election I've ever seen."

Although Ledford did not participate as a candidate in the November contests, he threw his weight behind the election of two of nine candidates in the race for two vacant seats on the council.

During the campaigns, factual information about some candidates' personal lives was blown out of proportion, while other claims "were total lies," the mayor said.

"Is that the way we want the elections here in the city of Palmdale to continue?" Ledford asked. "I think that's why people are disgusted with politics. That's why you have such a low voter turnout."

What he is seeking, the mayor said, is a way to hold candidates and their supporters accountable for engaging in reprehensible behavior.

"If there is no (council) support to aspire to do better, then maybe support for elimination (of the code) would be the way to go," Ledford said. "Anything goes."

By signing the code, candidates also agree to repudiate anyone on their campaign teams who engages in such tactics on the candidates' behalf.

Except for possible negative voter reaction, there is no penalty for a candidate who fails to live up to, or intentionally flouts, those standards.

"I saw in the last election - and in previous elections, actually - we will sign these documents, but they don't seem to be something we adhere to as candidates," Ledford said.

"I don't believe that's something we should be proud of, and therefore I don't think that's something we should ignore afterward as if it didn't happen. It's something we're actually quite embarrassed about," he said.

"If you notice, once the election was over, nobody wants to talk about it, (saying) 'Oh, it's past. We need to move forward,' as if it never existed," the mayor said. "The fact is, it does exist, it does carry forward, it affects our relationships and how we do business in the future."

"I think we're all guilty" of using questionable tactics, he said. "But I think we have an opportunity to maybe establish a higher standard that we can all aspire to."

Raising that standard might include asking people who run local political committees to sign the code as well, Ledford suggested.

Although campaign speech cannot be controlled by law, "I think we can aspire to be more factual; I think we can aspire to be less personal; I think we can aspire to focus more on goals and our vision for the city, as opposed to an election of personal destruction," he said.

If candidates are unwilling to live up to a higher standards, "Should we even be bothering?" with asking them to sign such a code, he asked. "I can't tell you that (slinging) mud doesn't bring reward, because I think this last election showed it does."

Of his fellow council members, "I want to ask if this is even practical," the mayor said. "If it is, how can we work to incorporate it to make it more inclusive of committee members and volunteers inside our of community and outside our of community?"

Ledford suggested that investigations could be mounted to look into individuals and groups that routinely engage in political activity but fail to report their labor and material expenditures to the state as non-monetary contributions.

"If the council wants to agree that these are values that we aspire to, that, to me, is important," the mayor said. "It doesn't require anybody to play by the rules, but it may give the public more confidence in the person ... if they don't have to resort to mud to get themselves elected."

"If you're sincere in wanting to be elected based on your platform, you should have no fear" in signing and adhering to the code, he said. "But if you violate it, shouldn't you be held accountable?"

The council will take up the topic on Wednesday during a meeting at 7 p.m. in the council's chambers, 708 East Palmdale Blvd.