Council supports code of ethics

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press January 28, 2001

By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Candidates in Palmdale could find themselves on-camera and under public scrutiny before a single campaign promise is uttered for the November 2001 municipal election.

In an attempt to curb the kind of political mudslinging that developed during the November 2000 race, members of the City Council voted unanimously to stage a public ceremony where candidates and supporters would be asked to sign a voluntary code of ethics.

Those signing the code, which was created by the state Legislature, would agree to refrain from, among other things, character defamation, libel, slander and scurrilous attacks against their opponents and their families.

Signers also would agree to refrain from attacks based on race, sex, religion, age or physical health.

Although violators could not be punished by legal means, they would be subject to public criticism. Candidates with campaign committees and backers who violate the code also would be subject to criticism.

With little legal recourse available, "We need to have a staged event," Councilman Rod Penner said Jan. 17.

"At the beginning of this campaign, when all the candidates are filing their papers and all the candidates are getting ready to participate, maybe we ought to have a major staged event with all the media - both print and video - and invite each and every candidate and their campaign committees or representatives to show up and sign this document as a public display that this is the code of ethics they will abide by," Penner proposed.

"The reason for doing that is, if down the road, things start to deteriorate and go south, then the media can do with that what they will," he said. "But they're on record as making a public commitment to abide by this code of ethics.

"Other than that, we've got no enforcement ability on this," Penner said. "It's only the public that will point the finger and say, 'You aren't playing fairly' or "You are playing fairly.' "

Even after signing, all sides may continue to claim to be playing fairly, regardless of the criticism, the councilman predicted. "But in the end, it's the public that makes the final determination."

Candidates could receive the codes when they asked for the paperwork needed to qualify for the campaign, City Clerk Victoria Hancock said.

Committee members could be asked to sign when they submit copies of their state financial filings to her office, Hancock said. "They are not required to comply, but we can request it."

Although some committees act independently of the candidates they support, their signing or not signing "would make clear what their intent may be," Mayor Jim Ledford said, offering supporting for the idea.

Councilman Jim Root pointed out that not all committees file at the city level, choosing instead to submit financial reports directly to the county or state.

Sometimes that is a tactic used to avoid being identified locally, Ledford said.

Councilman Rick Norris noted that if some committees choose to avoid signing, "there is nothing to prevent it."

"Even if they sign it and then they do something, who's responsible? Are there any punitive measures? The answer is no. What's the court of public opinion going to do?" Norris asked.

Individuals and groups that work anonymously behind the scenes would have no inclination to sign, he noted.

Ledford responded with a question of his own, saying, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a mechanism that at least points that out?"

"Then the public can focus on 'Why are they beating that candidate up and why are they anonymous?' "Ledford said. "It gives us all an opportunity to condemn that action when it does occur, and if you refuse to condemn, then maybe you're part of the problem."

"It's symbolic," Penner said. "We're giving the opportunity for everyone and every committee to make a public statement."

Mike Dispenza, the mayor pro tem, pointed out that the First Amendment offers considerable protection to political speech and campaign rhetoric.

"But the First Amendment doesn't protect you from (speaking) slander or lies or untruths," Ledford said.

Resident Marta Williamson, one of the leaders of the Oldtown Homeowners Group Inc., said having candidates sign a code of ethics would be a waste of time.

"You guys are all going to do whatever you want to do to get what you want," Williamson said. "When it comes down to the final thing, you don't go by ethics, you go by what you want.

"The community already knows that, and we've already tuned you out and turned you off on a whole lot of things just because you don't listen anyway," she said.

Richard Loa, who lost a bid for a council seat in November, said he supported Penner's proposal, which was similar to a idea he discussed earlier.

"I thought that having a meeting where all the candidates and the committees could attend and have a form of civil agreement for the conduct of an election would be something I would want to participate in," Loa said.

"Then, we're all face to face, and we agree with each other out intent to be civil and carry the discourse on a high level and stick to the issues," he said.

"I think, though, that could be subverted as well," Loa continued. "And it doesn't address the problem that comes at the very end of the election, which is when the real blows get landed" through the use of last-minute campaign mailings that can be misleading and blatantly false.

At that point, the candidates under attack have no time to dispel the myths and unravel the untruths before voters cast their ballots, he said.

"But I think that a meeting, at the very beginning, perhaps, might be conducive to doing something very positive in this particular arena," Loa said.

Barbara Walsh, who lost a bid for the board of trustees of the Palmdale School District in November, also supported Penner's proposal.

"We can't change the election that happened; we can't change the dirt that was put out there. It's past," Walsh said. "But we can learn from it.

"And you can't force people to follow the ethics in this code, but you can, as an individual and as a voter, hold them accountable for signing it and then going off and doing otherwise," she said