(VINELAND, July 31) – First District Senator Nick Asselta and his Republican Assembly running mates, Norris Clark and Michael Donohue, today offered their own First District Clean Campaign Pledge and invited their respective opponents to join them in conducting this fall’s campaign in the First District in a fair, honest, and above-board manner. 

“Fourteen weeks from today, the voters of the First District will cast their ballots to choose their Senator and two Assemblymen,” said Asselta, “and it is imperative that they be allowed to do so as fully informed citizens. Elections are about choices, and choices can only be made when a campaign has been conducted in such a manner that voters know the real and fundamental differences between the candidates before them.  

“For too long, too many voters have been turned off by what they see as increasingly ugly campaigns, where truth and accuracy are sacrificed at the altar of the Almighty Sound Bite and the 30-second attack ad,” Asselta continued. “For too long, too many campaigns have failed to offer real choices, relying instead on personal smears and distortions and exaggerations. We say enough is enough, our voters deserve better. Our voters deserve a campaign that’s conducted on the highest level, not the lowest – a campaign that elevates us, rather than denigrates us. 

“So today, we pledge to the voters of the First District that we will conduct our campaign fairly and honestly, and we invite our Democratic opponents to join us in signing this pledge.” 

“Abraham Lincoln, offering his first Inaugural Address to a nation ready to come apart at the seams, appealed to what he called ‘the better angels of our nature,’” said Clark. “Surely the challenges we face today can in no way be considered equivalent to those faced by our nation in those dark days; but just as surely, we can learn a lesson – if a political leader facing a nation about to go to war with itself could call upon the higher ideals that reside deep within each of us, can we do any less?

“We appeal to the voters of the First District to inform themselves of the issues before them, and of the alternatives we offer,” Clark continued. “We pledge that we will conduct our campaign as an appeal to our highest and best, rather than our lowest and least. We pledge a campaign that offers choices for the next generation, instead of the next election.” 

"We sign our First District Clean Campaign Pledge as a promise to the voters that we will attack the serious issues facing our District rather than launching false, personal attacks against our opponents," said Donohue. “Even in the boxing ring there are requirements that the fight must be clean.  Low blows are not allowed.  We will fight the good fight, but we will avoid resort to the personal smear, we will document any charge we make, and we will run a campaign designed to inform the voters of the First District about the real and fundamental differences of opinion that we have with our opponents.” 

First District Clean Campaign Pledge 

We pledge to conduct our campaign for public office openly and fairly. We will discuss the issues and participate in fair public debate with respect to our views and qualifications. 

We will not engage in, nor permit defamatory attack upon, the character of our opponents, nor will we engage in unwarranted invasions of personal privacy unrelated to campaign issues. 

We will not engage in so-called “push polling,” a practice in which candidates are smeared by the distribution of negative information via phone calls aimed at voter persuasion, dishonestly presented as a legitimate survey. 

We will document accurately and fully any criticism of our opponents or their records. 

We will not appeal to, and we will condemn appeals to, prejudice based on race, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, or political affiliation. 

We will not use, nor permit the use of, any campaign material or advertisement that misrepresents, distorts, or otherwise falsifies the facts regarding our records or those of our opponents. 

Finally, we will publicly repudiate support deriving from any individual or group whose activities would violate this Clean Campaign Pledge. In signing this pledge, we assume personal control and responsibility for the conduct of our campaign.  

-- Nicholas Asselta, Senator, First District

--Norris Clark, Assembly Candidate, First District

-- Michael J. Donohue, Assembly Candidate, First District   

-- 30 --   Paid for by Asselta Clark Donohue