Finding in the Complaint of Nora Lucas against George Mgrditchian & Maria DeRose, Village of Mamaroneck

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The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee met on November 27, 2017 to hear the complaint of Nora Lucas, Mamaroneck Village Trustee, against George Mgrditchian, former candidate for Mayor, and Maria DeRose, former candidate for Village Trustee. Ms. Lucas represented herself, accompanied by Sue McCrory, Gretta Heany, and Robert Stark. Mr. Mgrditchian and Ms. DeRose represented themselves.

COMPLAINT: Ms. Lucas complained that Mr. Mgrditchian and Ms. DeRose engaged in an unfair campaign practice by including the following statement on campaign literature distributed during the November 2017 campaign when Ms. Lucas was a candidate for Village Trustee: ”NORA LUCAS has instigated numerous lawsuits against the Village of Mamaroneck which have cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and she has lost every lawsuit.”

FINDING: Unfair
Ms. Lucas was only one of several plaintiffs in the lawsuits, and the statement that "she has lost every lawsuit" was not accurate.

Committee Members: Susan P. Guma, [Chair], Jennifer Mebes Flagg [Coordinator], Paul C. Atkinson, Nick Beilenson, Elizabeth Bermel, Gisele Castro, Miriam Cohen, Daniel S. Franklin, Jr., Victor J. Goldberg, LaRuth Gray, Joan Grangenois-Thomas, Lee Kinnally, Robert C. Kirkwood, Polly Kuhn, Carole Princer Levy, Harry Phillips III, Joy Rosenzweig, Susan Schwarz, Evelyn M. Stock, William N. Walker
Party representatives (ex officio): Republican Party, Democratic Party, Conservative Party, Working Families Party, Independence Party, Green Party, Reform Party                                    

The purpose of the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee is to help set an acceptable standard for political discussion by offering a forum for identifying unfair campaign practices and promoting a climate in which candidates conduct honest and fair campaigns. The Committee encourages candidates to conduct campaigns openly and fairly, to focus on issues and qualifications, to refrain from dishonest and defamatory attacks, and to avoid the use of campaign materials that distort the facts.

The Committee accepts written complaints from candidates about alleged unfair campaign practices. The Committee may then hold hearings to determine whether the action complained about is indeed unfair or whether it falls within acceptable political discourse. Among other things that the Committee will consider to be an unfair campaign practice is a misstatement of a material fact or any communication that misleads the public.

The Committee has no power to compel anyone or any group to stop doing what it has found to be unfair, nor does it have the authority or power to enforce election or other laws.

If the Committee acts on a complaint, it will release its findings to inform the public. The Committee may choose not to consider a complaint; in that case, a hearing is not held and the parties to the complaint are notified.

Statement of Principles of the Committee, as stated in its Manual, is available at www.faircampaignpractices.org. The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee believes that candidates should conduct their campaigns in accordance with the following principles:

  • The Candidate will conduct a campaign for public office openly and fairly, focusing on issues and qualifications.
  • The Candidate will not use or condone any campaign material or advertisement that misstates, misrepresents or distorts material fact or any communication that misleads the public. The Candidate will neither engage in nor be involved with false or misleading attacks upon the character of an opponent, nor in invasions of privacy unrelated to fitness for office.
  • The Candidate will not participate in nor condone any appeal to prejudice.
  • The Candidate will clearly identify by name the funding source of all advertisements and campaign literature published and distributed.
  • The Candidate will not abuse the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee process in order to obtain political advantage. This includes, but is not limited to, announcing that he/she has filed a complaint, or quoting the Committee’s Findings unless the individual Finding cited is quoted in its entirety.
  • The Candidate will publicly repudiate materials or actions from any individual or group that violates this Statement of Principles.