Bernard, Diana Cited for Unfair Campaign Practices
Three of six complaints for unfair campaign tactics filed against Yorktown councilmen Gregory Bernard and Tom Diana by their Democratic opponents in the wake of the recent special election were validated by a Westchester committee.
Democrats Rosanne Brackett and Bob Giordano, who were handily defeated by Bernard and Diana on March 10 for two available seats on the Town Board, were represented in a reportedly heated hearing before the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee on March 23 by Yorktown Democratic Committee Vice Chairman Lisa Mackay.
Bernard, who was elected over Brackett to fill the last two years and nine months of former Councilman Terrence Murphy’s term, and Diana, who outlasted Giordano for the right to serve the final nine months of former Councilman Nick Bianco’s term, were represented by attorney Dan Pagano.
One complaint the committee determined to be “unfair” was claims made by Bernard and Diana in a mailer that Brackett and Giordano were “opposed to term limits and government reform,” specifically term limits, ethics reform, televising Town Board meetings and modifying procedures for input at Town Board meetings.
The committee ruled that Brackett and Giordano’s position in favor of term limits was “clearly stated in a timely manner at a February debate,” along with their opinions on the other related issues.
Another complaint the committee ruled “unfair” was a failure of the Bernard/Diana campaign to state who funded lawn signs and literature as required.
A personal attack on Brackett in a letter to the editor in Yorktown News and in paid advertisements on social media sites by a supporter of the Republicans was also determined by the committee to be false and misleading.
Meanwhile, the committee, which has no power to compel anyone to stop doing what it considers unfair but encourages candidates to conduct campaigns openly and fairly, made no findings with two other complaints, and declared a claim from the Republicans that Brackett and Giordano “were pushing a political agenda that will hurt Yorktown small businesses” to fall within the realm of normal political discourse.
The committee is reportedly scheduled today (March 31) to hear 12 complaints the Republicans have filed against Brackett and Giordano.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
