Editorial: Newsletter is an unfair advantage

In effect, Harney believes that taxpayer dollars are being used to fund what essentially amounts to campaign literature for incumbents. "They feature pictures of Erin Kenny taking credit for everything but the sun coming up in the morning," Harney said. "I am calling for a moratorium on their use from June through November of election years."

Clark County's newsletter is mailed to 500,000 households in the county and the latest edition cost $160,000. "Sandstone" is an eight-page publication that every home receives, updating residents on county government developments and improvements. The newsletter also includes a two-page insert highlighting activities in each resident's district. Intentional or not, the insert gives quite a boost to an incumbent running for re-election because it prominently displays the commissioner.

For instance, in the newsletter that went to Kenny's District F constituents, the insert had the story "New Signals Meeting Traffic Safety Needs." One passage in that article contains this sentence: "Commissioner Kenny has been working hard to support the installation of new traffic signals to meet the growing needs of District F residents."

Kenny defends the use of the newsletter at election time. She told the Sun's Adrienne Packer that failing to mail out newsletters in a county that is growing so fast would be unfair to residents. But the newsletter inserts hardly constitute a "just the facts, ma'am" presentation. They cross over into advocacy for the commissioners. Residents have come to expect the occasional glowing reference to officials when reading government publications, but it's wrong for incumbents to be be featured in a government-paid newsletter so close to Election Day.

Things are done very differently at the federal level. Senate rules prohibit incumbents from sending mass mailings to their constituents at least 60 days before an election. House rules are even more strict, preventing incumbents from sending mass mailings 90 days before an election.

Clark County should implement a policy banning the use of government-funded newsletters close to an election. A reasonable and fair policy would restrict their use at least 60 days before an election.

It's a political fact of life that incumbents will have an advantage over challengers, whether it's name recognition or the ease of getting campaign donations to fuel their re-election bids. But having the county send out a taxpayer-paid newsletter so close to an election crosses the line.

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