Political ads may distort the truth

Last week, candidates in the 23rd Congressional District race and their supporters released a series of television ads. Several of the ads sought to note each opponent's shortcomings instead of promoting a favored candidate's record.

Here is how those claims stack up.

AD:"Return to Sender"

OWNER:Douglas L. Hoffman, Conservative Party candidate

CLAIM:"Dede Scozzafava twice voted for gay marriage."

True. Ms. Scozzafava, the Republican congressional candidate, voted in 2007 and 2009 to amend the state's Domestic Relations Law to allow same-sex couples to have the same rights as others in regards to civil marriages.

CLAIM:Ms. Scozzafava "supported that $180 million mortgage bank bailout."

This is a matter of interpretation.

Ms. Scozzafava voted for the "Foreclosure Prevention Act," which would have created a special fund to provide money to eligible homeowners holding subprime or unconventional mortgages who were facing foreclosure.

The bill passed the Assembly 104-33 in May 2008 but never made it out of a Senate committee and did not become law.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, in introducing the bill that January, said the bill would provide $150 million in direct assistance to homeowners, while an additional $30 million would be spent on debt counseling and legal services.

"This is key. We are not 'bailing out' lenders," he said. "Lenders must be active financial participants in the process and pick up their share of the tab so that the entire financial burden of this crisis does not fall solely on the state."

A New York Post editorial the day after Mr. Silver unveiled his plan saw it differently.

"The fact is that many lenders (investors, actually) — who hold bad mortgages — stand to lose a fortune, as their collateral turns out to have been wildly overvalued," the editorial board wrote. "No bailout for them — right, Mr. Speaker? Of course not."

CLAIM:"And she backed job-killing higher income taxes."

This is also open to interpretation.

Ms. Scozzafava voted for a 2008 bill that would have provided a partial property tax refund for New Yorkers making less than $250,000 annually, while creating a new, higher tax rate for those earning more than $1 million annually.

The bill passed the Assembly 118-24, but never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. It did not become law.

It's impossible to know definitively whether a tax increase on millionaires that was never enacted would kills job.

AD:"Dede Scozzafava: A Tax Record We Can't Afford"

OWNER:Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

CLAIM:"Scozzafava was criticized for managing the investment arm of a company whose subsidiaries owe $192,000 in back taxes."

This appears to be false.

The advertisement links its claim to a Sept. 2 article that appeared on PolitickerNY.com. Author Jimmy Vielkind notes that "several Seaway Valley Corp. subsidiaries owe $192,000 in back taxes," which is factually correct.

Mr. Vielkind notes that Ms. Scozzafava is the chief operating officer of Seaway Capital Partners. He also points out that Seaway Valley Capital Corp., according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, "absorbed WiseBuys, Hacketts Hardware and the investment fund set up by Seaway Capital Partners."

Mr. Vielkind does not say that Seaway Capital Partners acts as "an investment arm" of Seaway Valley Capital Corp., however. That specific claim is mentioned in articles by The Politico and The Hill, two publications serving the Washington, D.C., area. Those publications were not cited in the DCCC as the source of its claim.

Seaway Capital Partners is an investor in Seaway Valley Capital Corp. But Matthew A. Burns, Ms. Scozzafava's spokesman, said Seaway Capital Partners remains a separate company and is not Seaway Valley's "investment arm."

CLAIM:Ms. Scozzafava "voted for more taxes and fees for you — 190 times."

This is false.

The ad cites Ms. Scozzafava's votes in the Assembly from 2000 to 2008, and DCCC officials then sent a companion e-mail detailing the votes they used.

Most of the votes offered are for extensions of existing sales tax rates, which are requested by counties statewide and do not result in "more taxes" for anyone.

AD:"What is Bill Owens Hiding?"

OWNER:The National Republican Campaign Committee

CLAIM:"Owens won't even release his personal financial disclosure, asking for a filing deadline extension."

True. The Watertown Daily Times reported Tuesday that Mr. Owens, the Democratic candidate, has requested an extension on the deadline for filing his personal financial disclosure form, which is required of all candidates seeking congressional offices.

CLAIM:"But Owens made plenty of time to visit Washington, D.C., to raise a quick buck."

True. U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, as well as U.S. Reps. Patrick Murphy and Steve Israel, held a Sept. 16 fundraiser in Washington on Mr. Owens's behalf. Admission to the event started at $1,000.

There were no facts to check in Ms. Scozzafava's Web-only ad, "Special.

WATCH THE ADS

To view the latest round of political ads in the 23rd Congressional district race, go to:

■ "Return to Sender": www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlIpWNFFwkQ

■ "Dede Scozzafava: A Tax Record We Can't Afford": www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEWKCpjb3ks

■ "What is Bill Owens Hiding?": www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4WtEi7JfdE

■ "Special": www.dedeforcongress.com/news/read.aspx?id=34