Planet Weekly: Blogging the Mayor

Jackson Free Press

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Alan Lange's mayoral Web site is written up in the Planet Weekly this week. It's interesting that quite a bit of time is spent trying to show that Lange is not part of anyone's campaign staff:

"Lange denies being on the paid staff of any of the three campaigns he spotlights; he does indicate that a business of his, Uptown Consulting, did do some work for the Melton campaign on their phone and computer systems in January and was paid accordingly – a fact that Lange said should be disclosed on the campaign finance reports due from each candidate at the end of April, as should his contributions to the campaign itself.

"I've supported Democratic governors, and I've supported Republican governors. I've supported Democratic candidates for sheriff. My family supported William Winter and Ray Mabus. I personally supported Haley Barbour for governor, and I make no secret of my support for Frank Melton – that's fair disclosure," Lange said when asked about his past political activity in Jackson.

But is providing such a forum for candidates a type of campaign contribution that should be reported by all three candidates who have taken advantage of it? It depends on the intent and operation of such a website, according to David Blount, spokesman for Secretary of State Eric Clark. "Obviously, any money spent by a campaign has to be disclosed," said Clark. "If a person, or a news organization, or a group is acting independent of a candidate, the law is less clear."

Previous Comments

ID: 137425
Comment: Interestingly, Ms. Whitehead adds more copy to the Web version of this story that she says was deleted that talks about whether or not there was coordination between Mr. Lange and one of the mayoral campaigns: As to Frank Meltonís press secretary, Carolyn Redd, to confirm this information were not returned. Nikki Burns, press secretary for Mayor Harvey Johnsonís re-election campaign, said that Lange was not employed by their campaign in any way nor had he made a contribution to the campaign that she was aware of. ìWeíre familiar with it,î Burns said when asked about the site. ìMr. Lange has allowed all of the candidates to submit information to it.î [...] And further clarification from David Blount about campaign finance reporting: Issues to be considered when determining if a violation has occurred when dealing with published material are coordination with a particular candidate, whether money is being raised or spent by an organization, or what the purpose and message of the material is. ìThe issue of course is free speech,ì Blount said. ìIf thereís no coordination, if itís just simply free speech, then itís not covered by the campaign finance laws.î It's interesting that Ms. Whitehead does not mention that Mr. Lange helped host a fund raiser for Mr. Melton recently, being that's common knowledge at this point. I don't know if it matters, but this is all rather interesting after the discussion JFP bloggers had a couple weeks back about HarveyMustGo.com. I really know very little about election and campaign-finance law; it hadn't really crossed my mind that there could be any issue with JacksonsNextMayor being "coordinated" with the Melton campaignóalthough I guess it makes sense that the law would be there to ensure that candidates aren't setting up fake media sites and such (remember the controversy with the "reporter" placed by the White House). I'm sure not saying there is an issue with it, but it seems like Ms. Whitehead is at least trying to make it some sort of an issue here. Other thoughts? And does anyone know the details of what it takes to show or disprove "coordination" between a campaign and a Web site? This has raised my curiosity a bit. The story raises more questions than it answers.
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2005-04-20T18:27:48-06:00

ID: 137426
Comment: I just looked at JacksonsNextMayor as I've spent more time looking at JFP and NSS. If this man is working this site on behalf of the candidate he says he supports in the PW article...he sure is doing one heck of a bad job. The thing I've noticed on all the sites is that like minds do usually choose one site over another to post on.
Author: JenniferGriffin
Date: 2005-04-21T09:13:19-06:00

ID: 137427
Comment: Yes, he posted a really ugly anti-Melton piece this week to show his balance, as he openly says. Really ugly piece. Wouldn't be printed here. Shudder.
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2005-04-21T10:16:11-06:00

Ellington

Planet Weekly: Blogging the Mayor

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