Campaign ads

Campaign Ethics: Lies, Inconsistency and Money

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University held a program on campaign ethics Friday. The central question posed: Do campaigns have ethical standards? It is not a question that can be fully answered in a sound bite. So let’s start with the three core issues: lies, inconsistency and money.

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Shirakawa Shadow Still Looms over Campos

Will Xavier Campos ever break free of George Shirakawa Jr.’s shadow? Last week, District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced a new felony charge against Shirakawa after the former county supervisor’s DNA was found on a stamp affixed to a 2010 political hit piece against Magdalena Carrasco, Campos’ San Jose council opponent that year. Campos released a statement that failed to deny involvement. A look back at some of his 2010 campaign disclosure forms has now created some intriguing new questions.

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Cindy Chavez Campaign Pieces Break FPPC Laws on Coordination?

What’s the difference between Cindy Chavez’s campaign and some of the independent expenditure committees that want to get her elected to a county supervisor seat? Little more than a few choice words, according to mailers that have been targeting voters in District 2. With absentee balloting already in full swing, the campaign of candidate Teresa Alvarado chose last week to file a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission.

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Finding Truth in Political Ads

Here comes the plethora of mail, radio, television, emails, blogs, YouTube ads and Facebook posts designed to win over the uninformed, the misinformed, the naive, and the truly rare undecided voter. But these messages are important, believe it or not.

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