LAWRENCE: Candidates sign fair campaign pledge

With little fanfare, the four candidates for two Township Council seats put their names to the League of Women Voters of Lawrence Township’s “fair campaign practices” pledge Tuesday night.

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   With little fanfare, the four candidates for two Township Council seats put their names to the League of Women Voters of Lawrence Township’s “fair campaign practices” pledge Tuesday night.
   Incumbent Township Councilmen Stephen Brame and Jim Kownacki, both Democrats, and their Republican Party challengers, Glenn Collins and Max Ramos, signed the pledge prior to the Township Council meeting.
   Sue Varga, president of the Lawrence chapter of the League of Women Voters, thanked the four candidates for appearing and signing the pledge, which proclaims that they will engage in a fair, issues-oriented campaign.
   ”It’s important for candidates to represent themselves as honest, fair, respectful and responsible. Ultimately, all members of Lawrence Township Council collaborate and function effectively as an inter-professional team,” Ms. Varga said.
   ”This is why it is so important to help foster open communication and mutual respect among all candidates prior to the start of the election campaign. Our township does not need any negative campaign tactics that may lower voter turnout or erode voter confidence in the candidates and government,” she said.
   The Fair Campaign Practices Pledge states that the candidates will discuss the issues and participate in fair public debate “with respect to my views and qualifications.” The candidates will not engage in — or permit — defamatory attacks on the character of their opponents or engage in invasions of personal privacy unrelated to campaign issues.
   The candidates will not use — or permit the use of — “any campaign material or advertisement that misrepresents, distorts or otherwise falsifies the facts regarding my opponent.” They agreed to “publicly repudiate” support from any individual or group whose activities violate the Fair Campaign pledge.
   Longtime Lawrence League of Women Voters member Doris Weisberg, who also served on Township Council and as the mayor, said the group has been asking candidates to sign the Fair Campaign pledge since the 1980s.
   Mr. Collins said he signed the pledge “because it’s the right thing to do. If the truth comes out, it is what it is. None of us should make up things that are not true.”
   Mr. Ramos said he and his running mate, Mr. Collins, will debate the issues and not attack the character of their opponents. He said he is looking forward to the annual candidates’ night sponsored by the Lawrence chapter of the League of Women Voters.
   Mr. Brame said he and his running mate, Mr. Kownacki, will confine themselves to debating the issues and their merits.
   ”This is the second time that I have signed the Fair Campaign pledge,” Mr. Kownacki said. “I have no problem with signing it. It’s to keep the campaign fair and clean.”