Special to the Town Crier
Election '98
The League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area is considering providing campaign monitoring services to the town of Los Altos Hills to help enforce the town's newly enacted election code of ethics.
League President Carol Watts told council members at their Aug. 19 council meeting that the league's board of directors had given initial, but not final, approval to proceed with the monitoring project. Watts said the board had not been unanimous in its approval, and several issues remained to be resolved.
The council had approached the league last month about its willingness to serve as monitors following council approval of the voluntary code of ethics. The code particularly seeks to discourage false or misleading claims, unauthorized endorsements, and unauthorized and anonymous campaign mailings. Past Los Altos Hills elections have been marred by such dubious tactics.
Watts told the council her group has "three very qualified and experienced league members," including an attorney, who are interested in serving as a campaign monitoring committee. She said league chapters in other parts of the country have undertaken similar projects and have provided useful materials.
Watts said the league would present a draft memorandum of understanding to the town by Aug. 21. City Attorney Sandy Sloan said she would review the draft. It would come before the council at its meeting tonight.
"We are breaking ground here," said Mayor Bob Johnson. He and Councilwoman Toni Casey expressed their hope for a long-term relationship between the town and the League of Women Voters regarding campaign monitoring.