August 25, 1997: Judge Allows Statements in Tacoma Race

TACOMA, WA -- Five candidates for the Tacoma City Council can say what they want in their statements for a voters pamphlet, but the statements will be accompanied by a "warning label."

In a settlement approved by U.S. District Court Judge Jack Tanner after the ACLU went to court on behalf of some of the candidates to challenge the Pierce County Auditor's refusal to publish statements critical of her performance, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

Two legal battles over whether it is constitutional for a county auditor to restrict the content of statements in the voters pamphlet will continue to be fought in the courts, the newspaper said.

For the September primary and the November general election, the newspaper said, the disputed statements will appear unedited, but will be followed by the statement that "this candidate's statement is at issue in pending federal litigation."

The battle began earlier this month when Pierce County Auditor Cathy Pearsall-Stipek rejected the five candidates' statements, claiming that they were filled with untruths.

The candidates say their statements -- which criticize Pearsall-Stipek -- are accurate. More importantly, they say political speech should not be restricted unless it is defamatory.

"We are happy with the outcome and consider our motion to have been successful in that the county agreed to run the candidates' statements, as should have been done in the first place," Brent Snyder, an ACLU cooperating attorney, told the newspaper. "Our concern about the disclaimer is that it could create negative implication with respect to the candidates' statements."

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 23, 1997