EDITORIAL:Notes as campaigns reach the last lap EDITORIAL:Notes as campaigns reach the last lap (February 25, 2004)

A disingenuous spending ploy by Ted Lempert

From the beginning of their race for the District 11 state Senate seat, candidates Ted Lempert and Joe Simitian have had different takes on campaign spending.

But while Mr. Lempert has been telling everyone that he is going to abide by the Proposition 34 spending limit of something less than $700,000, it appears that his friends are anything but worried about keeping his campaign costs down. According to campaign spending reports listed on the California Secretary of State's Web site, nearly $310,000 (and very likely more when final tallies are in) over and above his acknowledged campaign contributions has been raised in Mr. Lempert's behalf under the heading "independent expenditures" since January 16.

Mr. Simitian, on the other hand, has said from the outset that he would keep raising money beyond the voluntary limit, because he feared a late smear campaign from his opponent, a tactic Mr. Lempert is said to have used in an earlier race.

Mr. Lempert has insisted that the independent expenditures are not overseen by his campaign staff, although recently published reports have established that a number of the donors are close friends or associates of his. If that is the case, it appears that Mr. Lempert's claim to stay within the campaign spending limit is a sham that could cause him much more political harm than exceeding the spending limit guidelines.
Early absentee voting

The 21 percent of registered voters in San Mateo County who prefer to cast absentee ballots pose an interesting question for election officials, who spend a lot of money to make sure all voters know as much as possible about the candidates and issues.

Voters who cast ballots as much as 30 days before an election (24,000 of the 71,000 absentees mailed out for the March 2 primary had been returned by February 20) miss out on many important forums, debates, endorsements and news coverage that could influence their election decisions. It may be tempting to cast an early ballot in order to tune out the television and print advertisements that grow like weeds as the campaign builds to its climax, but along the way these voters could miss an important fact that might have changed their mind about a candidate or issue.

Like many newspapers, the Almanac prepares a voter guide that in prior years appeared in the last paper before election day. We have moved that date forward at least a week (February 18 for this primary) just to accommodate absentee voters, although it is likely that to reach all absentee voters the guide would have to be published during the first week of February.

If this trend continues and more and more voters choose to cast early ballots, it will mean fewer and fewer voters will be swayed by the prodigious amount of advertising that is aimed their way in the final days of campaigning. It will also mean that candidates who save their funds for a last-minute push will be battling over an increasingly smaller portion of voters.

Almanac endorsements in key races

State Senate District 11 Democratic Primary: Joe Simitian

State Assembly District 21 Democratic Primary: Ira Ruskin

Board of Supervisors 4th District: Rose Jacobs Gibson

Board of Supervisors 1st District: Mark Church

Board of Supervisors 5th District: Adrienne Tissier, unopposed.

Regional Measure 2 for transportation: Vote yes.

Propositions 55, 56, 57 and 58: Vote yes.

Measure C, Portola Valley schools parcel tax: Vote yes.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.