[RP TownTalk] Electioneering on e-mail lists prohibited

[Alan K. Thompson]

Dear List Members,

Let me say up front that I have a nasty cold/flu/fever right now, and
am not thinking as clearly as I would like to be. That being said, I
thought immediate action was required.

The Riverdale Park Town Code says (§29-19)

"(a) It shall be unlawful for any person at or in connection with any
town election to engage in any of the following conduct:
[sections removed for brevity]
(7) To use any town property or facility in connection with any
election except as authorized by the Mayor and Council."

I had hoped that the Town Council would authorize, through adoption of
the proposed email list electioneering policy, limited electioneering
on the list.  Because they did not, I have to decide whether
§29-19(a)(7) applies to the lists or not (I've heard opinions on both
sides of this, but had not actually read the text of the code,
recently, until today).  I had hoped to do this before anything
started, but apparently the election season has started already.

Therefore, at least for the time being (until I get well and can
review the code and discuss this issue with others), ALL
electioneering on the lists is prohibited.  All messages will be
moderated to make sure they do not contain electioneering.

I can say that messages that have links to electioneering (or content
that does not satisfy the posting guidelines, for that matter) is
allowed.  So, you could write to the list "I have strong opinions
about the race for Riverdale Park Dog Catcher which may be
electioneering or violate the list posting guidelines.  You can read
my opinions at http://RPDogCatcher.example.com or contact me off-list
by replying to this note or sending e-mail to
RPDogCatcher at example.com".

I will update the web pages with this information as soon as I can.

Sincerely,

Alan Thompson
Listmaster and Acting Webmaster
Town of Riverdale Park