STANTON : Campaign Mailer Ordinance Adopted
Copies of last-minute campaign mailers must be provided to City Hall within two hours after their distribution, under a new ordinance.
Modeled after an ordinance enacted by Newport Beach in August, the recently adopted law is intended to give candidates time to answer any last-minute allegations in opponents’ flyers. It requires anyone distributing 200 or more campaign documents within two weeks of a city election to supply the city with 10 copies no later than two hours later.
“We can’t tell people what to write, but if you’re going to send out lies and innuendoes that can’t be proven, we want to know who’s doing it. That’s fair for both sides,” Mayor Edward L. Allen said.
Council member Sal Sapien, who voted against the ordinance, said it was a violation of First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech.
City Atty. Thomas W. Allen said: “We do not feel that the ordinance constitutes the type of restraint that is impermissible. There’s no censorship or any requirement of filing documents before distribution. And there’s no obligation on the clerk to review content or pass judgment in any way on the material.”
The ordinance goes into effect in 30 days, in time for the Nov. 6 election. It carries a penalty of up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
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