FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES COMMITTEE
82 Taymil Road, New Rochelle, NY 10804
914-633-7889 /fax 914 632 6689 /faircampaign@optonline.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 9, 2008                                                    Contact:         Stephanie Sarnoff, Chair
                                                                                                914-276-0760 day
                                                                                                914-722-1304 evening

Findings in the Complaint of
John Degnan vs. Greg Ball

The Westchester Fair Campaign Practices Committee met on July 8, 2008 to hear the complaint of John Degnan (Rep.)against Greg Ball (Rep.), candidates for the office of New York State Assemblyman, 99th District.

Mr. Degnan challenged several statements contained in campaign literature sent out on behalf of Mr. Ball. The Committee’s findings are as follows:

Complaint: Mr. Degnan complains that Mr. Ball’s statement that he was named “Legislator of the Year” by the National Rifle Association (NRA) is misleading because the award was made by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.

FINDING: Unfair Campaign Practice.

The Ball campaign representative did not dispute the fact that the award has been given by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. The Committee finds this statement to be false and misleading because the award was not in fact given by the NRA. The fact that the state association is affiliated with the national association does not make it acceptable to treat them as interchangeable or equivalent organizations in campaign statements.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against Mr. Ball’s statement that Mr. Degnan is a “liberal democrat.”

FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

Mr. Degnan is a registered Republican and was at the time the campaign literature was distributed. In 1997 Mr. Degnan was unsuccessful in gaining the Republican Party nomination for Town Supervisor, and subsequently ran on the Democratic and Conservative party lines. Those facts alone, however, do not warrant the statement made in the Ball campaign mailing, which is misleading at least as regards Mr. Degnan’s long connection with the Republican party. The Committee was given no specific information that allows it to judge whether the statement is misleading as regards Mr. Degnan’s political philosophy.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against the statement by Mr. Ball that during an unsuccessful 2007 campaign for office, Mr. Degnan “abandoned” the Republican Party to run as a Democrat.

FINDING: FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE

            Although related to the same set of circumstances involving Mr. Degnan’s 1997 campaign as the previous complaint, the Committee finds a significant difference. The fact that Mr. Degnan once ran for election on party lines other than that of the Republican Party is not sufficient to warrant labeling him as a Democrat, but it is sufficient to warrant the assertion that he “abandoned” the Republican Party on that occasion. Such a statement is within the bounds of ordinary campaign discourse and is not misleading to the average voter.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against the statement in Ball campaign literature that Mr. Degnan is backed by “powerful and corrupt interests that want to unseat Greg Ball.”

FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

The key word here is “corrupt.”  The Committee was provided with no evidence supporting this charge of corruption among Degnan supporters. Without such a factual basis, such terminology becomes misleading innuendo. It raises vague concerns among voters without informing or enlightening them. This is an example of the kind of campaign practice and discourse that the Committee has consistently and uniformly opposed over the years. The Committee hopes that such statements as this will be avoided by all candidates and campaigns in the future.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against Mr. Ball’s campaign material for repeating a charge made during the 2007 campaign that accused him of being a “slumlord.”

            FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE

            The only basis presented to the Committee for this claim was that Mr. Degnan’s rental property has not been inspected by the Village of Brewster. No suggestion was made, or evidence presented, that Mr. Degnan did anything to block or terminate an attempted inspection by the Village. The Committee was presented with both a 2007 Journal News story and a letter signed by several of Mr. Degnan’s tenants, both of which deny that substandard housing conditions exist on this property. The fact that inspections may not have occurred is not sufficient to warrant the use of an emotional term like “slumlord.” To repeat this assertion in 2008 campaign literature perpetuates a misleading statement from a past campaign and compounds the error of an unfair campaign practice today.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against the statement that “Degnan doubled his own salary as his first act in office and contracted his brother in law for hundreds of thousands of dollars as Village Attorney.”

FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

The Committee finds this statement to be false and misleading. First, Mr. Degnan’s salary increase did not take place until five months after he assumed the office of Mayor, hardly his “first act.” More importantly, however, this salary increase was made by the entire Village board as a part of the Village budget process. It is misleading to attribute this decision to Mr. Degnan unilaterally. Moreover, the Committee understands that Mr. Degnan’s brother-in-law was appointed Village Attorney by the former mayor five years before Mr. Degnan assumed office.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against the assertion that he “Created a sanctuary city in Brewster for illegal aliens.”

FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

The term “sanctuary city” is sometimes used to refer to a municipality that has passed laws preventing police and other authorities from investigating the immigrant status of residents. Others use the term more loosely and broadly, suggesting the notion of a supportive environment or safe haven. The Committee did hear evidence that as Mayor of Brewster, Mr. Degnan promoted policies that supported legal immigrants in their economic activities. But the Committee received no evidence that he took steps to ignore or encourage illegal immigration or illegal immigrants. This is what the statement in question asserts, and therefore the Committee finds it misleading.

The failure of the Ball campaign material to distinguish carefully between issues concerning legal residents and illegal residents runs through several other complaints presented below. The issue of illegal immigration is a national issue and clearly there are disagreements and tensions in the 99th Assembly District. But in keeping with its Principles of Fair Campaign Practices, the Committee urges all candidates to use temperate language and to exercise factual diligence when addressing this issue.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against the following statement in Ball campaign material: “Months before Spitzer tried the same, Degnan invited foreign governments into Brewster to issue illegal ID cards to illegal aliens.”

            FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

The Committee understands that this statement pertains to the fact that Mr. Degnan and other Brewster officials invited the Consul General of Guatemala to Brewster to discuss the program whereby Guatemalan officials make blue cards available to Guatemalan citizens who have valid passports, birth certificates or national ID cards. These blue cards can then serve as a form of reliable identification for individuals who otherwise have none. This identification can be useful to law enforcement and for other purposes and is not illegal. However, this meeting did not take place and this program was not implemented in Brewster.
The statement is misleading in three respects. First, the program contemplated by Mr. Degnan is unlike the proposal by former Gov. Spitzer, which involved issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Second, only officials from one government, Guatemala, were invited, whereas the statement uses the plural term “governments,” and thereby makes it seem like foreign officials from many countries were going to become involved in Brewster. Third, the statement is misleading because the blue cards to be discussed were not “illegal” and were not intended to be used only by persons who are residing in this country illegally.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan challenges Mr. Ball’s assertion that Mr. Degnan “spearheaded a taxpayer funded work shelter for illegal aliens to provide recreational, educational and legal services at your expense.”

            FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

The Committee understands that this statement refers to a plan to construct a hiring site (actually a small shelter for people waiting for employers to drive by) for day laborers. It was the initiative of “Team Brewster” (a group of elected officials and community leaders). The plan did not include recreational, educational or legal services and the site was never built because a suitable location could not be found.
It is misleading to state that various services were to be provided that were not part of the plan the Mr. Degnan supported.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against the statement by Mr. Ball that “Degnan’s pledge to build a hiring site...was defeated by a protest led by Assemblyman Ball which featured U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and hundreds of residents…”

            FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

            Based on the information presented to the Committee at the hearing this statement is misleading because it misrepresents the event.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains against a statement by Mr. Ball that Mr. Degnan welcomed Brewster’s illegal population as it increased exponentially during his tenure as Mayor.

            NO FINDING

            The Committee was not able to reach a finding on this complaint because there was not sufficient evidence presented by either side to assess it.

COMPLAINT: Mr. Degnan complains that a photograph of a man contained in Mr. Ball’s campaign literature with a caption beneath reading: “John Degnan, Pro-illegal Alien Activist” is not a photograph of Mr. Degnan, but of someone else.

FINDING: UNFAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICE.

The Committee has consistently held that it is a violation of Fair Campaign Practice Standards to use a false or inappropriate image in campaign material or advertising, or to artificially change a photograph to gain political advantage. The Ball campaign representative admitted that the photograph was not of Mr. Degnan. He said that it was an unintentional error, and promised to use the correct photograph of Mr. Degnan in future campaign materials.
The Committee is concerned that material with the false photograph was sent out more than once and after the error was known to the Ball campaign. In addition, Mr. Degnan has been a public official and political figure in the area for many years, so it is implausible to think that members of the Ball campaign did not know what he looks like. Finally, the caption itself is troublesome, even if the photograph had been one of Mr. Degnan. The Committee was presented with no specific evidence that he is an activist in favor of illegal immigration.

If a candidate or campaign wishes to quote from this Finding, the Committee requires that the Finding be quoted in its entirety. The Committee regards selective quotation of its Findings as a violation of fair campaign process.
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Committee Members: Stephanie Sarnoff (Chair), , Miriam Cohen (Coordinator) LaRuth Gray, Susan Pace Guma, Ruth Hinerfeld, Milton Hoffman, Bruce Jennings, Burton M. Leiser, Ernest Prince, Susan Schwarz, Evelyn M. Stock.
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 or 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.lwvwwestchester.org. The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee believes that candidates should conduct their campaigns in accordance with the following principles:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The candidate will not participate in or condone any appeal to prejudice.
4. The candidate will neither use nor be involved with the use of any campaign material or advertisements that misrepresents or distorts the facts.
5. The candidate will clearly identify by name the source of all advertisements and campaign literature published and distributed.
6. 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.