Latest news with #politicalIntegrity
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dayton candidates vow to avoid mudslinging after attack ads in prior election
Jun. 17—Shenise Turner-Sloss, Darryl Fairchild and Jacob Davis recently signed a written pledge to run a "clean campaign" for the November election cycle that refrains from negative personal attacks and mudslinging. They challenged their opponents in the Dayton mayor and commission races to do the same. Turner-Sloss and Fairchild were the subject of attack ad mailers from other Democrats when they ran for Dayton City Commission four years ago. They and some community members called the mailers racist and an attempt to use campaign dirty tricks. This November, Commissioners Fairchild and Turner-Sloss are running as a team with Davis, against Darius Beckham, Karen Wick and incumbent Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr., who are campaigning together. Fairchild, Davis, Beckham and Wick are running for two open city commission seats, while Turner-Sloss is trying to unseat Mayor Mims. Turner-Sloss, Fairchild and Davis said they signed a clean campaign pledge last week where they vowed to refrain from personal attacks and divisive rhetoric. The pledge also says they won't share false, misleading or unsubstantiated information about candidates, groups or community members, and that their campaigns will focus on issues and qualifications. The pledge says they will promote open, honest and issue-based debate, and they'll hold their supporters and campaign staff to these standards. In a statement, Davis said "campaigns should be about ideas, solutions and vision," while Turner-Sloss said the city deserves leaders who focus on issues and not personal attacks. Commissioner Fairchild said, "Dayton is stronger when our politics reflect our community values: respect, decency, and fairness. This pledge is a promise to lead by example." The candidates urged their opponents to sign the pledge. In response, Mims, Beckham and Wick issued a joint statement that says, "We're glad to see that all campaigns are committed to running on principles of honesty, respect, and integrity. That's what Daytonians deserve. We're not interested in political games, we're focused on doing the work. Our priority remains where it's always been: delivering real results, strengthening our neighborhoods, and providing the steady, experienced leadership Dayton needs." When Turner-Sloss and Fairchild last ran for the Dayton City Commission in the fall of 2021, attack advertisements were mailed out to city voters that said the candidates "opposed measures to keep us safe from violent crime." One mailer claimed that Turner-Sloss could not be trusted because she was endorsed by the Dayton/Miami Valley Democratic Socialists of America. Fairchild and Turner-Sloss at the time said the mailers were dirty tricks and racist dog whistles. The Montgomery County Democratic Party issued an apology to Fairchild and Turner-Sloss, and the Ohio Democratic Party chairwoman also said she apologized to the candidates. Montgomery County Democratic Party Executive Director Kurt Hatcher resigned in the wake of the controversy. All four candidates in the race were Democrats.
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
How Sussan Ley's career crashed, burned and was revived
When Sussan Ley resigned from the frontbench amid an ongoing expenses scandal nearly a decade ago, many thought her career was over. Insisting she had not broken the rules, the Liberal MP resigned in January, 2017. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull admitted her conduct did not meet the pub test. She stepped aside amid two investigations into her travel expenses, including her decision to purchase a $795,000 luxury apartment on the Gold Coast. She had used a taxpayer-funded COMCAR to scoot around the corner to check it out. She was on the nose and her career was going nowhere. After waiting 13 long years to be admitted to cabinet in the Abbott-Turnbull years some people would have given up. But her hopes would be revived by Scott Morrison who succeeded Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister. Regardless of the genesis of the story, the community outrage was real as it followed a scandal over Brownwyn Bishop's use of a helicopter to fly to Geelong. Leaked emails laid bare the political research unit's success in triggering two of the biggest scandals to rock the Abbott and Turnbull government, which weakened Tony Abbott's leadership and also sparked a major review of travel rules. The book revealed that for six years, Mr Shorten's office was running one of the most methodical, relentless and successful investigative journalism units in Australia. But rather than journalists, it was political staffers who prepared the material and leaked it to the press. After a freedom of information request revealed Ms Ley had spent $12,000 to charter a VIP jet to the Gold Coast for an afternoon meeting at the Pharmacy Guild conference, the Labor Party again swung into action. Mr Shorten's office had a paid subscription to RP Data, a property data firm that provides access to ownership data across Australia. The office had requested an RP Data subscription after the debacle involving former Victorian Labor frontbencher David Feeney failing to disclose a $2 million investment property in Northcote, which he claimed he'd forgotten he owned. ALP secretary George Wright had signed off on the subscription, which cost several thousand dollars, to ensure the Labor Party knew what houses its MPs owned. Simply by punching 'Sussan Penelope Ley' into the database, the fact she had bought a property on the Gold Coast immediately came up, including the sale date. The Labor Party then examined her travel records to discover if she was on any taxpayer-funded flights on the day she bought the property. Labor's dossier on Ms Ley ran to 27 pages. It would later emerge that the sole breach was using a COMCAR to take her from her hotel to the $800,000 apartment she bought, a five-minute journey. Claims she broke the rules by visiting the Gold Coast on New Year's Eve and piloting a plane were dismissed on the grounds she could prove official business on those days. 'I simply table the outcome of the investigation, as I said I would, and in doing so allow people to draw their own conclusions,' Ms Ley told Parliament. 'Regardless of these facts, the public impression was cast.' Ms Ley later said it was a shock to learn the truth, but after returning to the ministry she was 'happy focusing on policy rather than smears'. ''I've had to accept that politics is a pretty rough game,'' Ms Ley said. ''I shouldn't be surprised by Labor activating their dirt unit to protect Bill Shorten – and that didn't work. 'I've moved on and Labor can live with where they are sitting at the moment.'' After her election as the Liberal Party's first female leader she now faces much bigger challenges. A divided party. A bitter leadership brawl. Claims and counterclaims of dirty tricks. Conservatives are already lining up to take potshots at her. 'Malcolm Turnbull in a skirt,'' Sky News host Rita Panahi observed on social media. There's no guarantee that her tenure will be long. But as she grapples with the Nationals over the fate of net zero targets, there is every chance it will be eventful.
