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To see less mud slung, take a cue from Pinellas

Pasco Elections Supervisor Kurt Browning wants to keep political campaigns above the belt.

Specifically, Browning wants to avoid the tactics of the 2000 tax collector's race, when challenger David "Hap" Clark mailed campaign literature contending falsely that incumbent Mike Olson had been accused of sexual harassment and once brought a female worker into his office to talk about her crotch.

Olson won the election with 77 percent of the vote and sued Clark for defamation. He had little alternative for redress. Browning would like to provide him one.

Under a plan still in the talking stages, Browning wants the county to form a Fair Campaign Practices Board in an attempt to eliminate inaccurate or misleading campaign tactics. Browning brought up the idea after the Clark-Olson race in the 2000 primary, but a presidential election recount, new electronic voting requirements and other more pressing issues pushed the notion to the back burner. Browning now wants to turn up the heat.

"I think it's a noble effort. We're going to keep pushing it. Something's got to be done," Browning said in an interview Monday.

It is a sound suggestion, but ironing out the details is key. Miami-Dade County has a campaign board with punitive powers, including the ability to levy fines. A more expedient idea is for the Pasco panel to be modeled after a citizens board in Pinellas County.

There, candidates sign pledges to campaign fairly, and the citizens board arbitrates if candidates are suspected of violating the promise. It does not eliminate negative campaigning, but it does give candidates an opportunity to rebut inaccurate accusations. The board has no punitive authority. Media coverage of the panel's work and the embarrassment if someone breaks a pledge are the recourse for candidates who are wronged.

Appointing appropriate people to the board will be important. It must be bipartisan to be effective. The initial board in Pinellas included a retired judge and former heads of the major political parties.

Much of the committee's work likely will come in the campaign's final days, when attack literature is common because candidates lack the time to respond appropriately. In such cases, speed is essential.

In the 2000 election in Pinellas, for instance, a candidate complained about a piece of mail four days before the election. The committee heard the complaint and ruled within 48 hours. (That late-attack tactic, however, could be waning as more and more people use early voting to cast their ballots.)

Browning's idea picked up early endorsements from diverse corners: Jennifer Seney of Pasco Wildlife Inc. and Republican Executive Committee Chairman Bill Bunting, who were on opposite sides of the Penny for Pasco sales tax debate in 2004. School superintendent Heather Fiorentino backed the plan after her 2002 re-election to the Legislature featured literature Fiorentino said distorted her Tallahassee voting record.

Building community consensus is important, considering the tepid response from Commissioners Ted Schrader and Ann Hildebrand, as reported Sunday by St. Petersburg Times staff writer Garrett Therolf. Their misgivings are understandable, given the lack of details, but they should hear out Browning.

Cleaning up campaign mudslinging is a worthwhile chore that shouldn't be discouraged.

[Last modified October 11, 2005, 01:58:15]