Latimer and Cohen Lodge Complaints, Get Rulings

Complaints about campaign practices in the race to succeed Suzi Oppenheimer as senator for the state District 37 have been lodged by both candidates.

Assemblyman George Latimer filed a complaint against Bob Cohen that a paid television advertisement was "blatantly misleading viewers into believing 'regular' people are offended by his opponent."

The Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee issued no finding.

"The implication of a stage reporter hosting a spontaneous interview as a framework could have been misleading to some; however, the commercial was clearly labeled as a political advertisement," the committee said.

The Cohen campaign complained that the Latimer campaign had told the Journal News on Sept. 28 that it had filed a complaint with the committee regarding alleged unfair campaign practices.

The committee said that it was indeed an unfair campaign practice.

"Mr. [Victor] Mallison [Latimer's campaign manage] admitted that a representative of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee had contacted the Journal News about the complaint filed with the committee. FCPC rules state that 'News releases concerning the filing of a complaint may come only from the committee. If notice of the filing of a complaint is made public by any other source, the committee will consider the action an unfair campaign practice'," the committee said.

A press release from the committee said it has "no power to compel anyone to stop doing what it has found to be unfair."

The 37th Senate District is comprised of parts of New Rochelle and White Plains, Bedford-Katonah, Harrison, Rye, Port Chester, Larchmont-Mamaroneck and Bronxville-Eastchester.