FREE PRESS — You're a local newspaper columnist who runs for city council and wins. Was your free access to the press during the campaign a reportable campaign contribution? According to a report in the Vacaville Reporter, somebody thinks so.
Although the election is over for the Dixon City Council, some allegedly questionable campaign practices have risen to the surface in a recent complaint to the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Former Councilman Mike Smith filed the complaint Dec. 17 against newly elected-Councilman Michael Ceremello, former Councilman Steve Alexander and former mayoral candidate Dave Scholl.
The Reporter has not received official documentation of the complaint, but Smith explained that the complaint has a lot do with writing and campaign ads that ran in the Independent Voice, a local newspaper owned by Scholl.
Ceremello is also a regular contributor to the articles and columns published in the newspaper.
"It makes it very hard to run a fair campaign when a paper, that is distributed to everyone, is biased," Smith said.
Former Councilman Mike Smith filed the complaint Dec. 17 against newly elected-Councilman Michael Ceremello, former Councilman Steve Alexander and former mayoral candidate Dave Scholl.
The Reporter has not received official documentation of the complaint, but Smith explained that the complaint has a lot do with writing and campaign ads that ran in the Independent Voice, a local newspaper owned by Scholl.
Ceremello is also a regular contributor to the articles and columns published in the newspaper.
"It makes it very hard to run a fair campaign when a paper, that is distributed to everyone, is biased," Smith said.
