Here’s to the rise of clean Newport Beach campaigns

Election problems exist and have existed since elections began.

But every little thing officials can do to prevent them can go a long

way toward perfecting the system.

Newport Beach Councilmen John Heffernan and Gary Adams have, oddly

to some, teamed up to ensure that either misleading or phony phone

messages are prevented or that those creating them are punished. The

former would be preferable: those who spend as much time and money as

is needed on a Newport Beach City Council election should at least be

allowed to enjoy a clean campaign -- as far as those really go.

At the local level, especially, clean campaigns should not only be

waged, but be guaranteed as much as possible by city governments. At

the state level, as was obvious in the governor’s race in November,

dirty campaigning and name calling occurs. It’s despicable that it

comes down to such childishness.

In the latest Newport Beach City Council election, a campaign

consultant created a telephone message that misled voters as to who

the Greenlight candidate was in District 4 -- Adams’ district. It was

Adams’ campaign manager, Dave Ellis, who created the message.

What Adams proposes would require candidates to file the scripts

of all recorded campaign messages with the city clerk’s office before

they’re used. Candidates’ campaign literature already passes through

the city clerk’s office before it’s mailed.

Heffernan’s proposal, meanwhile, would forbid candidates from

misrepresenting their political party affiliations and endorsements

on campaign literature.

He also wants the City Council to create conflict-of-interest

rules to forbid paid campaign consultants from receiving lucrative

jobs that the city funds. Again, the latter would target Ellis, whose

Airport Working Group received about $458,000 of a $3.6-million city

grant to promote an airport at the former El Toro Marine Base.

It would behoove residents and council members to support Adams

and Heffernan’s proposals to ensure a clean election process in

Newport Beach.