Panel hears candidate’s complaints in Ballston council race
A hotly-contested Town of Ballston Council race that began with the larger issues big-box development, preserving a rural flavor, attracting a grocery store has, in its final four days before elections, boiled down to the smaller issues of semantics and interpretation.
Friday night, a 5-member panel of the League of Women Voters (LWV) convened to review two complaints lodged this week by Patti Southworth, who is running on the Democratic-Independent- Working party line, against her opponent Mary Beth Hynes, the Republican incumbent on the Town of Ballston Town Board. In her lengthy complaint, Southworth contends two recent mailings from the Hynes campaign have violated rules for Fair Campaign Practices set by the LWV.
Fair Campaign Practices were enacted to assure candidates conduct honest and issue oriented campaigns, be open and fair, refrain from defamatory or misleading attacks on the character of their opponents, and not use campaign materials that distort the facts.
For two minutes Friday night, representatives for each candidate addressed the panel with the two mailings under scrutiny in hand.
`The entire piece is comprised of distortions, misleading statements, and undermines the very spirit of fairness we find so important,` said Jordan Baugh on behalf of Southworth. `It’s full of false insinuations.`
`Our mailings are honest and Mary Beth chose her statements carefully,` said Ann Crowell, Saratoga County Campaign chair, representing Hynes. `There has been harsh language from both sides, but we’ve said nothing untruthful or unethical. When people are running for office, anything is subject to interpretation.`
The panel, chaired by Jim Miller, questioned both speakers about their interpretations of the words `record,` `promise,` `debate` and `accountability,` all used on the mailings.
One of the statements in question in the flyer was that Southworth broke a promise of accountability when she attended another function earlier this month rather than the LWV sponsored Meet the Candidates night.
`Patti had a previous engagement with constituents,` said Baugh. `She didn’t make a promise to attend the candidate’s night, which was not a debate. Attendance at the LWV event was not required, and by not attending she was not being unaccountable.`
`Meet the Candidates Night, debate, call it what you will,` said Crowell. `People want to see how the candidates respond on their feet, handling tough questions and heckling from the audience. Mary Beth did this very well. It’s not the same as going door to door; it’s a more formal format.`
As the panel wrestled with the parameters of running a fair campaign, Hynes, in a statement released before the panel convened, said the negative campaigning originated with Southworth supporters.
`There have been numerous letters to the editors by (Southworth’s) supporters that attempt to assassinate my character,` said Hynes, producing about a dozen letters. `Her campaign has repeatedly attacked me as being a political pawn, a puppet, being without character and lacking integrity and honesty. Now, she has the gall to say she’s run a positive campaign. Her hypocrisy is stunning.`
Southworth’s complaint also asserts it was misleading to say she had no public record, since she has held no public office.
`Patti has made her views on everything from Wal-Mart to land preservation well known,` said Baugh. `She has frequently been the only attendee at every town council meeting. She has spoken a zoning and planning board meetings and at every public hearing. Her record is proven.`
Southworth lost her bid for a town council seat last year to Paul Farnan, who resigned in February. Hynes was chosen from a number of candidates including Southworth and appointed to the open slot. Under public service law, Hynes must now be elected to continue to serve.
Both candidates said they would continue their footwork over the next several days going door-to-door to meet next week’s voters.
The panel will release its findings on Southworth’s complaints within the next 24 hours, and will make those records public. The ruling comes without any legal ramifications.
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