Political ads should be held to basic standards of truth

We just passed the time of the year when everyone is sick of political advertisements! They take over and occupy our televisions, telephones, computers, mailboxes and street corners. The most sickening part, though, is not the oversaturation of ads, but the often misleading and malicious content we are bombarded with throughout the day. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but why do election year ads get away with abandoning the basic standards of truth and accountability that Arizonians insist upon for all other broadcast advertising throughout the year?

I, for one, have decided to draw the line. I’m not going to tolerate a California billionaire who funded Proposition 127, trying to portray me as the reason his initiative failed in Arizona. You probably saw his advertisements labeling me “corrupt” because of how I supposedly helped an Arizona utility service provider change the ballot language to its liking. Nothing could be further from the truth.

That’s why I filed a defamation lawsuit against the out-of-state activist. Enough is enough. Nobody should be able to smear the good name of Arizona’s public servants with reckless abandon, just because they disagree with them and have the millions of dollars to try it.

Every day I stand up for Arizonans as attorney general, whether they are Democrats, Independents or Republicans. I call balls and strikes to the best of my ability. I understand that nobody can please all of the people all of the time, but everyone can be assured that I act with independence and integrity in every decision. I have dedicated my career to these principles as a prosecutor, public servant and veteran.

The California billionaire might be surprised to learn I am a solar customer with panels on my own home. I want to do what I can to support a clean environment and many of my friends and neighbors feel the same way. As far as Prop. 127, I took no position on it, but I might suggest that proponents of solar power could find their time and resources better spent pursuing ways to provide the service in a cost-effective way that will make sense to consumers in a free market. In my experience, Arizonans respond to that more than out-of-state interests telling them what they have to do.

At the end of the day, these solar activists are free to decide how to promote their cause, but they are not entitled to slander Arizona’s public servants in a barrage of unfounded and malicious attacks. Regardless of political affiliation, I believe most people still believe in standing up to disingenuous out-of-state bullies, that they can appreciate what is really going on here and that they will support my efforts to help clean it up.

— Mark Brnovich is Arizona attorney general.

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The views expressed in guest commentaries are those of the author and are not the views of the Arizona Capitol Times.