LOS ANGELES POLITICS - Every election cycle, political candidates and elected officials sign pledges for one issue or another – no new taxes, won’t raise taxes, pro-life or choice, etc. Rarer is when the politicians themselves propose sworn pledges or promises to their constituents.
Unfortunately candidates also seem to throw the pledges to the wind and disregard them often when it benefits them politically. During an interview, Former Governor Jeb Bush said to Washington Post reporter Michael Gerson: “There is a declining confidence that pu blic officials can be trusted, that they will keep their word.”
The question I want to examine today is – Do pledges matter anymore?
Absolutely. Signing a pledge is providing a window into your soul. You, as a candidate or elected, are putting your integrity and character on the line that you will honor the pledge no matter what. It is a vow. A promise. A promise to be unwavering no matter what pressure you are under.
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A solid example of a politician honoring a pledge comes from an unexpected place: Hillary Clinton.
When she ran for the United States Senate, Hillary pledged to serve at least one full term and not jump to higher office. In 2004, Clinton was under immense pressure to run for President of the United States. After much vacillation, she cited her main reason for not seeking her party’s nomination was that she simply could not abandon her pledge to the people of New York, not now, not ever.
Hillary explained that this singular pledge made her ambition to run for President in 2004 a non-starter. She honored her word and did not run until 2008 and had completed a full term in the Senate. Imagine if she ran in 2004. She very likely would have beaten John Kerry and secured the Democratic nomination potentially beating George W. Bush.
Hillary understood the importance of her word and a pledge. Although we disagree on much, I do respect her for honoring her pledge.
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The current failed Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, agreed not to run for higher office until he had served his district for three terms as their City Councilman. He broke his promise, ran for Mayor, won, and has become quite possibly one of the worst mayors on record. He is more focused on his own career than the city he was elected to represent. The mayor has been caught in lie after lie. But why should voters expect anything else from someone who breaks his pledge?
When politicians abandon their pledges, they are telling their constituents: “Do not trust anything I say. I will lie, repeatedly.”
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Here is a more recent example of a politician breaking his pledge. During a heated 2009 campaign for Los Angeles City Attorney, candidate Carmen Trutanich wanted desperately to prove to voters that unlike his opponent, he was not a career politician. He only wanted to be City Attorney for two terms and then retire to private life in Long Beach. He only wanted to fix the City.
In order to highlight that point of difference, one of his campaign platforms was that he did not want to use this office as a stepping stone to higher office and, if elected, swore to serve two full terms.
But that was not enough. Trutanich had to up the stakes to really drive his point home that he was NOT a career politician and “god forbid I ever become one.” He drafted a physical pledge that he signed swearing to not use the office as a stepping stone, serve two full terms as City Attorney and if he violated these terms he would purchase full page newspaper ads in every major paper with a headshot of himself and the words “I AM A LIAR” in large block print.
In addition, he would give $100,000 of personal funds to a charity delineated in the pledge. Sounds pretty great right? What a guy! He meant it right? Not so fast.
Less than six months into his term as city attorney, Carmen Trutanich began to run for higher office, District Attorney. When questioned about his sworn promise to every resident in Los Angeles not to run for higher office, Trutanich claimed: “Circumstances have changed.”
Carmen Trutanich lied - plain and simple. He does not value his word or the people of Los Angeles. Trutanich has given us a window into his soul, his character and integrity are flawed and he simply cannot be trusted. If voters choose to elect him to the post of District Attorney this June election cycle, they can count on one thing – Carmen Trutanich will lie again and again. He has shown us that he does not value his own word. How can voters trust anything he says during a campaign cycle or as an officeholder? Bottom line, they cannot.
Carmen Trutanich lied his way into office and he lied to the people of Los Angeles.
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Trutanich’s top rival for District Attorney, Deputy DA Alan Jackson, highlights Trutanich’s lies in his campaign for District Attorney. (Link)
Candidates and elected officials must be held accountable for their pledges and sworn promises. Our only recourse besides public shame is to vote them out of office at the ballot box. Voters must send a clear signal that we will not tolerate our elected officials lying to us any longer.
(John S. Thomas is Alan Jackson for District Attorney’s political consultant. He also worked on Trutanich’s original bid for City Attorney. Thomas earned a BA from Southern Methodist University and received his MPP from Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy. He is the founder and CEO of Thomas Partners Strategies, a political consulting and strategy firm based in Los Angeles.) Photo/graphic credit: Street-Hassle.blogspot.com -cw
Tags: Carmen Trutanich, City Attorney, Los Angeles City Attorney, Alan Jackson, District Attorney, campaign, election
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 10
Pub: Feb 3, 2012