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Contacts: Zachary Stalberg
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COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY CONDEMNS KNOX’S BROKEN PROMISE TO HALT CAMPAIGN SPENDING

PHILADELPHIA – May 10, 2007 – The Committee of Seventy today condemned Democratic mayoral candidate Tom Knox for breaking a pledge made during an April 30th KYW Newsradio mayoral debate to put an end to any further campaign spending. Today’s Philadelphia Daily News reports that, since that pledge, Knox has poured at least $1,250,000 million of his own dollars into his campaign to add to the $8 million he has already contributed.

“Although Mr. Knox is legally permitted to spend as much of his own money as he wants, it is deplorable that he would publicly declare a halt to his so-far uncapped spending and to break that promise just days later,” said Zack Stalberg, Seventy’s President and CEO. “I hope he will regain the voters’ trust by putting an immediate end to any further donations.” Stalberg also urged Knox to make clear that his most recent contributions are gifts, rather than loans. After being criticized by Seventy for treating an earlier $5 million donation as a loan for which he would presumably seek repayment, Knox converted the loan into a gift.

Seventy has repeatedly criticized Knox’s excessive spending on his bid for mayor. In an April 8th op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stalberg called upon Knox to voluntarily cap his campaign spending which was “undermining the progress” of a mayoral race that has been “genuinely competitive, far more issue-oriented and far less expensive than it would have otherwise been.” Knox’s less wealthy competitors are complying with the City’s campaign finance ordinance that limits contributions to their campaigns. Seventy has vigorously defended those limits for reducing the risk of pay-to-play that unlimited fundraising would otherwise invite.

Stalberg stated that Seventy is tracking the promises made by all of the candidates and would continue to “hold their feet to the fire” during the last few days of the primary campaign, throughout the general election campaign and once the winning candidate is in City Hall.

The Committee of Seventy is a non-partisan organization conducting a permanent campaign to improve the Philadelphia region by demanding ethical conduct of public officials, safeguarding elections, promoting government efficiency and educating citizens.

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Last Updated: May 10, 2007