Campaign Watch Commission

It is a nine-member commission, created in May, 1999 by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and supported by numerous, diverse civic organizations, to encourage a positive and productive electoral process.

Why was the Commission created?

Several civic groups approached the League and asked the organization to find a way to discourage dishonest, unethical political campaigning. The League believed that a small, but politically and ethnically diverse group of civic leaders, who have the respect of the community, could hold candidates' behavior to a high ethical standard.

Why was the League of Women Voters asked to be the founder?

The League is a political, nonpartisan organization with a long history of working to encourage citizen participation in government. The League believes that citizens are more inclined to become informed and to vote in a political process that is honest, fair and ethical.

What is the Commission's relationship to the League of Women Voters?

The League promotes the Commission and provides staff support, but the Commission's decisions and actions are taken totally independent of the League.

How does the Commission work?

Several weeks before the election, a copy of the Commission's Election Complaint Procedures is sent to all candidates for citywide office and for district seats at the local, state or federal level that are subject to election by Los Angeles voters. Candidates who think that their opponent has breached the standards of campaign ethics set forth in the Commission's Mission Statement can submit a "complaint" to the Commission. The opponent is provided an opportunity to rebut the complaint, after which the Commission weighs the submitted evidence and issues a response. The response is provided to both the complainant and the opponent, and to the media.

What are the standards set forth in the Commission's Mission Statement?

The standards require that all candidate and ballot measure campaigns be free of:

prejudice based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age or sexual orientation. personal character attacks
false and misleading statements or accusations

Have candidates filed complaints with the Commission?

Yes, since its founding in 1999, the Commission has acted on numerous complaints received from candidates for a variety of offices, including mayor, city council, board of education and state Assembly.

What kinds of action has the Commission taken?

In some cases, after reviewing the complaint and rebuttal, the Commission found that the complaint was without merit. In other cases, the Commission agreed that a complaint was warranted because a candidate made false or misleading statements or attacked the opponent's character in a way that was unsubstantiated or contrary to the Commission's standards. In several cases, the Commission has been faced with a complaint and counter-complaint; it reviews both sides' documents and determines an appropriate response to each candidate.

What does the Commission do when a complaint is filed in response to a last-minute attack, such as a mailer that is distributed the weekend before a Tuesday election?

That is often the time when candidates resort to the most inflammatory language because they know their opponent may be unable to respond. Commissioners realize that they need to make themselves available on very short notice, and every effort is made to respond to a complaint in time for it to be meaningful. A candidate charged with a complaint has 24 hours to submit a rebuttal, and if that deadline is not met, the Commission proceeds with the information that is available. The Commission has been able to review a complaint, request a rebuttal and issue a finding in as short a period as three days.

What organizations support the Commission?

The following organizations support the Commission; several had encouraged the League to create and promote such an effort:

American Jewish Committee
Anti-Defamation League
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Jewish Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation Council
Korean American Coalition
Korean Youth and Community Center
Latin American Civic Association
Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission
Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission
Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center
Los Angeles NAACP
Los Angeles Urban League
Multicultural Collaborative
Muslim Public Affairs Council
National Conference for Community and Justice
Progressive Jewish Alliance
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southwest Voter Registration Project
Women For:

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: April 4, 2008 14:20 PDT.