{"id":1969,"date":"2019-04-18T11:51:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T16:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1969"},"modified":"2019-04-18T15:46:03","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T20:46:03","slug":"1969-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1969","title":{"rendered":"Shame on Them!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shame on Them!<\/strong>
More Dirty Tricks From <\/strong>
The Negatives and Naysayers<\/strong>
By Susan M. Halpern<\/strong>
Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today (on the eve of\nearly voting) the negative\u2019s designated blogger claimed that \u201cit has come to\ntheir attention\u201d that an ethics complaint was filed against one of the\ncandidates.  Here\u2019s what the Texas Ethics\nCommission has said about statements like that:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>\u201cThe use of the\nstatements \u201ca sworn complaint has been filed against Candidate A\u201d or \u201cthe Texas\nEthics Commission is investigating a complaint against Candidate A\u201d are improper attempts to mislead the public<\/strong>. <\/strong>It is therefore the unanimous opinion of the bipartisan\nTexas Ethics Commission thatthe use of such language in campaign communications is an\nunfair practice and should be judged accordingly by voters<\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the full text\nof the Resolution on this subject that was adopted by the Ethics Commission in December\n2013:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESOLUTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Texas Ethics\nCommission unanimously condemns the use of misleading campaign communications\nregarding the activities of the Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of the\nstatements \u201ca sworn complaint has been filed against Candidate A\u201d or \u201cthe Texas\nEthics Commission is investigating a complaint against Candidate A\u201d are\nimproper attempts to mislead the public. It is therefore the unanimous opinion\nof the bipartisan Texas Ethics Commission that the use of such language in\ncampaign communications is an unfair practice and should be judged accordingly\nby voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By law, the Texas\nEthics Commission investigates every sworn complaint, whether it has merit or\nnot. Likewise, any citizen of the State of Texas has the right to file a sworn\ncomplaint, whether it has merit or not. The fact that a complaint has been\nfiled or the Commission is investigating provides no meaningful information to\nthe voting public. Anyone can file a complaint and the Commission must\ninvestigate the complaints it receives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If violations of the\nstatutes under the Commission\u2019s jurisdiction have occurred, the proper way to\ninform the public of these violations is to describe the facts of the violation\nor the actual findings of the Commission after the conclusion of an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commission directs that this resolution be prominently referenced on the Commission\u2019s website and that the resolution be sent to members of the legislature and state and county party chairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, as of this\nwriting, the Texas Ethics Commission has no record of the alleged complaint and\nthe candidate involved hasn\u2019t been notified about anything.  This can only mean (a) it never happened, or\n(b) it is still in the mail and hasn\u2019t reached the Commission.  Either way, the information was clearly fed\nto the negative blogger for the precise purpose of publishing it, which is the exact\nconduct resoundingly condemned by the Ethics Commission in the quoted\nResolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you had any doubt\nabout whether leopards change their spots, doubt no more.  Once a negative, always a negative.  It\u2019s not what Addison needs, and the last two\nyears have proved that in spades.  Don\u2019t\nfall for such tactics.  They aren\u2019t the\nAddison Way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SHAME ON THE NEGATIVES FOR TRYING TO MISLEAD ADDISON VOTERS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n