Santa Clara Candidate Ethics: Pass/Fail Report Card

Santa Clara Candidate Ethics: Pass/Fail Report Card

All candidates in this election signed the State’s Code of Fair Campaign Practices, pledging to run fair and honest campaigns. Four—Kertes, O’Neill, Chandra, and Cox—took it further by signing the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge, which holds them to stricter standards.

I’ve been tracking their performance to ensure they’re keeping these promises. A key commitment from the State Code (#6) is that candidates must immediately and publicly repudiate support from groups engaging in smear tactics. This applies especially to independent expenditure committees who are running smear campaigns in Santa Clara.  Simply saying they reject special interest money isn’t enough—they must speak out when attacks are made on their opponents.

The pass/fail report card reflects how well candidates honor these commitments throughout their campaigns. I’ll update it regularly on publicethicsnow.com so voters can see if candidates stay true to their word.  The report shows who is and who is not honoring the commitments they made when they signed the State’s Code.  

Ethics matter—let’s hold candidates accountable for the promises they made. The time is now. 

Dr. Tom Shanks