Hunt Down ‘Dirty Trick’ Culprits

Los Angeles voters go to the polls today with still a few unanswered questions about who the best candidates are. There are many candidates and a few close races that make for tough decisions. But there are some ugly questions that linger, questions that should not have had to be raised: Who was behind the deceptive and divisive attack phone calls aimed at mayoral candidates Steve Soboroff and Antonio Villaraigosa? Who was directing those last-minute dirty tricks? Even after this primary election is over, the culprits should not be let off the hook.

Soboroff was the target of an anti-Semitic telephone campaign that claims he has “become entirely dependent on Jewish money.”

Villaraigosa was smeared in recorded telephone messages by someone who impersonated one of his major supporters, county Supervisor Gloria Molina.

Big-city politics, with its big stakes, is a game of hardball, but these cowardly anonymous tricks go beyond the normal rough-and-tumble of campaigning.

Whether a crime has been committed is not yet clear. State law prohibits the unauthorized use of a candidate’s or committee’s name. Misleading voters by pretending to be the incumbent or a public official is also illegal. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is investigating but needs facts to determine whether to prosecute.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley has assigned his new public integrity unit to the ongoing investigation. “Those of us in public life must be in the truth business,” Cooley said Monday. He promises to release the names of any “candidate, telemarketing firm or anyone else” involved in the automated telephone campaigns. He also said he would support Molina’s call for state legislation that would require candidates to disclose who paid for such telephone campaigns and that if asked his office would be willing to help draft the bill.

In Los Angeles, city officials should not wait for the state to act. After every citywide election, the Ethics Commission analyzes what should be improved. After the mayoral election, the commission will consider recommending that the City Council approve a stronger local campaign finance law that would require full and timely disclosure of all campaign contributions.

The anonymous telephone attacks may not technically break the law, but they do break the public trust with voters. Whoever is responsible, whether opponents or surrogates of opponents, ought to be exposed as the sneaky, hit-below-the-belt campaigners that they are. And then, let the voters remember.