THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603220524
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
Four community groups concerned over the increasingly negative tone of political campaigns Thursday established guidelines for how candidates here should behave in the upcoming elections.
``It's time for us to say to candidates, `No more negative ads!' '' declared Donna Berg, first vice president of the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs, a community group involved in drafting the guidelines.
The voluntary guidelines, called the ``Voters' Expectations for Candidates'' will be distributed to every candidate running for the City Council or School Board in Virginia Beach.
In addition, the guidelines will be announced at the start of several upcoming election forums. There will not be any monitoring of the campaigns to check compliance.
The sponsoring organizations also hope that nonpartisan groups in other local cities follow suit for elections in their communities.
There's already some indication that could happen. Gene Waters, president of the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations, praised the Virginia Beach effort and said he'll bring the code up at the April 3 meeting of his group.
Waters also is chairman of the Hampton Roads Coalition of Civic Organizations. That group may also hold a special meeting soon to discuss the idea, he said.
The authors of the Virginia Beach guidelines noted that negative advertising is not yet a great problem in most elections for City Council and School Board. But they hoped their effort would keep local politicians on ``the high road'' and eventually change the tenor of state elections.
``This is just an example of how it can be done,'' said Barbara Ballard, president of the local League of Women Voters. ``You don't have to accept negative campaign ads. You can gather with your fellow citizens and make a statement of what the campaigns should be about - the issues.''
Eileen Moore, treasurer of the Beach's council of civic organizations, said, ``It all starts at the grass-roots level.''
The groups also hope to persuade many novice candidates in Virginia Beach to adopt good campaign habits to use throughout their political careers. In the May 7 elections, there are 49 candidates, most first-timers, running for the School Board and 10 running for the City Council or mayor's seat.
The guidelines are based on a model statement put together by the League of Women Voters at the national level. On Thursday, representatives of the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads met with counterparts from the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs, Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations and the Virginia Beach division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.
The Virginia Beach groups tailored the national guidelines to local circumstances.
The code includes statements calling for candidates to campaign openly on policy issues instead of engaging in personal attacks on unrelated topics. It also urges office seekers to assume responsibility for anything their aides may say and to avoid appeals based on prejudice.
Maury Bailey of the Beach's council of civic organizations said the sponsoring groups have broad-based community standing, which also should make candidates take the guidelines seriously.
``The people in this room represent a lot of important people in the community as well as a lot of voters . . . so we should have some impact,'' Bailey said.
The Virginia Beach guidelines also have drawn praise from some respected veteran politicians across South Hampton Roads.
``It's a great first step,'' said G. William Whitehurst, a Republican who used to represent Norfolk and Virginia Beach in Congress. ``I hope it succeeds all the way through. Some campaigns in the last state election just grossly exceeded the bounds of reasonable campaigning.''
J. Samuel Glasscock, a former Democratic member of the General Assembly from Suffolk, called the guidelines ``terrific.''
``And the fact that these groups can join together on something they agree on . . . in itself is a good sign,'' he said.
Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia professor of political science who has studied campaign trends, said the guidelines may help but warned against too much optimism.
``Politics is not a Sunday afternoon tea party,'' Sabato said.
``One person's facts is another person's distortion. These things are never as clean cut as the ethical codes suggest.''
But, Sabato added, ``voters are the ultimate ethics police.'' MEMO: For more information, contact the League of Women Voters of South
Hampton Roads, 627-3396.
ILLUSTRATION: THE STATEMENT
Draft statement of ``Voters' Expectations for Candidates'' in
Virginia Beach:
Every candidate for public office has an obligation to observe
and uphold basic principles of decency, honesty and fair play.
Public office is a public trust. Every candidate is expected to
adhere to the following basic principles:
Candidates for public office should conduct their campaigns
openly and fairly, discussing the issues and participating in public
dialogue that presents their views and qualifications.
Candidates should assume personal responsibility for the conduct
of their campaigns.
Candidates should uphold the right of every voter to full and
equal participation in the electoral process.
Candidates should emphasize their policy positions and refrain
from personal attacks unrelated to campaign issues.
Candidates should not use or permit the use of any campaign
materials or advertisements that misrepresent, distort or otherwise
falsify the facts.
Candidates should reject and condemn any campaign appeal to
prejudice based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age or
sexual preference.
American voters have the right to expect candidates to live up to
certain standards in conducting campaigns. These standards can be
used to determine if candidates are meeting their obligation to
voters.
KEYWORDS: CAMPAIGN ELECTIONS by CNB