City Council Members Spend $1 Million in Tax Dollars
for Congratulatory and Self-Promotional Advertising

Ads During 2003 and 2005 Election Years Possibly Violate City Charter
Historic Civic Group calls for policy changes to remove unfair incumbent advantage

Citizens Union today released a study showing that the members of the City Council have spent close to $1 million in tax dollars over the past five and a half years on advertising in local community newspapers and event journals, of which $343,000 was spent during the election years of 2003 and 2005 in possible violation of the city charter when almost all were running for re-election or election to another office.

Most of the advertising appears not to provide a public service or impart information about public meetings and hearings, but rather simply extends holiday greetings or salutatory congratulations. The study found that three distinct spending peaks occurred each year in June, September, and December, coinciding with special events, primary elections, and holidays.

While the annual average amount spent on advertising by council members was $3,685, the top ten spenders on the City Council accounted for fifty-five percent, or $405,360, of all advertising dollars spent by the Council during the fiscal years of 2003 to 2006.

The City Charter prohibits elected officials who are candidates for city office from participating in television, radio or printed advertisements paid for with government funds from January 1 of the election year through the date of the last election. However, Citizens Union discovered that spending amounts and patterns were the same for both election and non-election years.

"This is a practice without oversight that some council members use inappropriately to raise their profile with tax payer dollars as they run for re-election to their current office or election to another one," said Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union, a 110 year old civic organization and watchdog for the public interest. Dadey continued, "This practice seems less about providing constituent service and more about promoting the council member's own name and image, particularly since expenditures were at similar levels in both non-election and election years. The use of these ads gives incumbents an unfair advantage in their political campaigns."

The advertisements analyzed by Citizens Union allow office holders to direct funds to local organizations through ads in their event journals, to media outlets and to community projects, without oversight or transparency -- an incumbency protection tool that can often translate into local voter support and valuable media converge come election time.

With the issuance of this report, Citizens Union calls upon the City Council to ban ads which are solely congratulatory or self-promotional in nature and enforce the ban on such ads during election years. For the addendum of sample ads part one-sample public service ads, part two-sample community event ads, and part three-sample local paper ads.