Mayoral Candidates Sign Clean Campaign Commitment

At least Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and his opponents City Councilman Patrick Dowd and Carmen Robinson can agree on one thing: they will all run "Clean Campaigns." All three candidates recently signed the Clean Campaign Commitment sponsored by the League of Women Voters. The commitment features a Code of Conduct which breaks campaigning down into four basic ethical categories: Honesty, Fairness, Transparency and Responsibility. The League then monitors the campaigns of the candidates to judge whether they violate the Code. League President Suzanne Broughton says there hasn't been much campaigning so far, so no candidate has yet to violate the Code. The Code is not meant to deter rigorous campaigning, but counter negative campaigning with vigorous debate while stressing individual differences.