Candidates Take Fair Campaign Pledge

Rachel Ward - ROCHESTER, NY (2008-09-03) The League of Women Voters announced the candidates that have taken its "Fair Campaign Pledge" Wednesday. The pledge was created by the League, and the Interfaith Alliance of Rochester. It exhorts candidates that take it to refrain from negative campaigning and focus on issues in their ads.

Republican Cheryl Dinolfo took the pledge in her bid for reelection as county clerk. She says the pledge is a "natural extension" of the campaign season.

"The people who devote their time and energy to this system are doing a good thing, they're doing a good service. Certainly as we get into the campaign they'll be a variety of messages that the voters will hear, and the way that those messages are received ... is very personal to each recipient and so to have a review board as a guidance tool, I think, is a good thing."

Dinolfo's opponent is Democrat Tom Hasman. He says taking the pledge means keeping the campaign clean.

"In recent years there's been a lot of smear going on at the national level and the county level and it's nice to make a pledge that you're making a statement, you're going on record that you will run a fair-based campaign about the issues that [matter] to voters and not about smear tactics and personal issues that should not have anything to do with campaigning."

The League's process allows for complaints about unfair campaigning to be lodged by a candidate in a race, even if the opponent hasn't taken the pledge. A committee appointed by the League then rules on whether or not the pledge was violated, and releases its ruling to the media.

As of September 3, the candidates who are running contested races, who have taken the pledge are:

Cheryl Dinolfo, incumbent Monroe County Clerk
Tom Hasman, challenger for Monroe County Clerk
Joseph Errigo, incumbent NYS Assembly 130th
Jeffery Morrow, challenger NYS Assembly 131st
Joe Morelle, incumbent NYS Assembly 132nd
Bill Reilich, incumbent NYS Assembly 134th
David Garretson, challenger NYS Assembly 134th
David Koon, incumbent NYS Assembly 135th
David Bonacchi, challenger NYS Assembly 135th
Paloma Capanna, challenger NYS Senate 54th
Mike Nozzolio, incumbent NYS Senate 54th
Jim Alesi, incumbent NYS Senate 55th
David Nachbar, challenger NYS Senate 55th
Joe Robach, incumbent NYS Senate 56th
Rick Dollinger, challenger NYS Senate 56th
Donald Hobel, (no incumbent) NYS Senate 62nd

Read the "Fair Campaign Pledge"

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