Fair Campaign Pledges – too little, too late

Willa signed the Fair Campaign Pledge this year. She would have signed in years past, but for one important factor:
by the time the press conference came, she had delivered her last tray of mail to the Post Office. The campaign – a primary – was for all practical purposes – over.

To date, the League of Women Voters website does not list which candidates signed the plege, but keep checking… that could change without notice.  D&C newspaper coverage did not include a list of signors.

So, along with her pledge, Willa submitted a letter to the Interfaith Alliance and the League of Women Voters, urging them to move their process up, specifically recommending a timeframe revolving around the Board of Elections submission deadlines.

Willa’s letter was cited in VoteUpNY, a D&C newspaper blog, in a posting by Jill Terreri.

“All the good intentions of the Fair Campaign pledge and all due respect to the organizations that work so hard to get candidates to sign them, but last year, pledges became part of the campaigns in an unhelpful way. Whether candidates signed pledges, and what pledges did they sign. Somehow the Fair Campaign pledge was just too little, too late. There are ways to make it more relevant, and I’ve submitted my suggestions.”

(Quote references a candidate who “doesn’t like to sign pledges”, while being very visible at this pledge signing ceremony.)

Related news: D&C, Sep 23 Elections Fairness Panel Criticized.