Don't tell Stephen Medvic the old jokes about "campaign ethics" being a contradiction in terms. He's heard 'em all.

To the point that in the first paragraph of a new book, Medvic and his co-authors wrote, "It is difficult to blame those who think that [ic]campaign ethics[nm] is an oxymoron."

But actually, said Medvic, a new political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College, there isn't a real consensus on what constitutes ethical campaign behavior - mainly because so little research attention has been paid to the topic.

Medvic, along with Candice J. Nelson and David A. Dulio, set out to open a conversation on campaigning with "Shades of Gray: Perspectives on Campaign Ethics," a scholarly book published through the Brookings Institution Press.

The book, which features chapters by academics and some actual political practitioners, is part of the Improving Campaign Conduct project at American University.

"Some of the practitioners were a little more pragmatic," Medvic said, "the academics, a little more idealistic."

With campaigns conducted largely through "sound bites and 30-second ads," Medvic said, elections are devoid of real debate on the issues.

"Voters are coming away with a sort of empty feeling after a campaign is over," he said.

Still, he thinks campaign conduct today is "not worse than it's ever been, and in some ways better."

But because mass media magnify every political detail, what was done largely under the radar in years past is now common knowledge, and that's part of the reason why people think campaigns are dirtier than before.

Even those much-maligned attack ads on TV, he pointed out, have been shown in studies to have far more policy content than the soft-focus, upbeat commercials that voters say they want to see from candidates.

Medvic and his co-editors wrote a chapter on political consultants, the topic of Medvic's first book.

His conclusion: "I sometimes think they get blamed for everything that goes wrong with the system. They're not the cause - they're a symptom."

Medvic came to F&M this summer from Old Dominion University in Virginia, where, the school's acting provost told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, he was "one of the brightest American government specialists that we've had."

Medvic said he enjoyed his work at Old Dominion, but the state's budget cuts made teaching there progressively more difficult. The same problem applied to his wife, Emily Medvic, an elementary school teacher and author.

She now teaches first grade in Manheim Township School District.

Medvic spent his first semester at F&M familiarizing himself with local politics, although he's still a little hazy on what a "row officer" is.

Because Lancaster County is such a one-party area, with the GOP dominating the Democrats, there's not as much partisan bickering, but more intraparty infighting. In situations like that, he said, "a lot of people are not going to pay attention."

But the $10 million 17th Congressional District race this fall between George Gekas and Tim Holden, he noted, was bad enough on its own.

"When it's high-stakes," Medvic said, "it can bring out the worst in people. It's almost like "Survivor.'/i"

He would like to bring to Pennsylvania a program that has been effective in Virginia - a kind of candidate school that gets politicians thinking about campaign ethics before the campaign actually starts.

Deciding in advance what you will do in the heat of a campaign, Medvic said, helps to prevent ethical lapses in the crunch.

"I think that's why we get the quality of campaigns that we get," he said, "because no one pays any attention to it."

Good judgment

We have our first winner in the Political Animals Campaign Challenge: How warm can you stay while announcing your candidacy?

Heidi Eakin, the latest GOP candidate for judge, gets the gold star for holding her kickoff inside the old courthouse - instead of outside on the courthouse steps, where everyone else seems to congregate.

Eakin, the first assistant district attorney, had a crowd of about 70 supporters (hint to other candidates: you draw bigger crowds indoors!) in announcing Thursday morning that she wants the Republican endorsement for a new seat on Lancaster County Court.

The only other declared candidate is David Workman, an attorney with Blakinger Byler & Thomas (see below for more on that).

Eakin ran once before for judge, in 1999, but bowed out after failing to win the endorsement. That adherence to party discipline - considering that because the GOP committee couldn't agree on two endorsements for two seats, other unendorsed candidates ran - might help her in this year's sweepstakes.

She also will have strong support from police and her fellow ADAs, and from Republican committee members who are concerned that some of the other hopefuls this year don't have criminal-law experience.

President Judge Michael Georgelis has said that the new judge probably will be assigned to family court.

At Thursday's kickoff, Eakin said she would abide by the Lancaster Bar Association's recommendation that judge candidates should refrain from making statements on controversial issues, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for more robust debate in judicial campaigns.

"When one announced candidate said he would WAIT to see what the other candidates do on this point, here's what this candidate WILL do," Eakin said, a reference to Workman's earlier position that he plans to follow the guidelines but needs to find out how the competition is operating.

Republican area committees will begin screening judge candidates next month. The endorsement convention is Feb. 18.

If she wins, the Eakins will be a power couple par excellence: Her husband, Mike Eakin, was elected a state Supreme Court justice in 2001.

Mr. President

The head of the College Democrats chapter at Millersville University, senior Michael Rovito, has been elected president of the Pennsylvania State Federation of College Democrats.

That also gives him membership in the National Council of College Democrats, representing all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Rovito has been instrumental in the revival of the MU chapter, which highlighted its year last fall by staging a rally for governor candidate Ed Rendell that drew more than 600 students near the end of Rendell's campaign.

After being elected state president, Rovito met in Mount Carmel with Pennsylvania Auditor General Bob Casey Jr. for a school district tour and discussion on education funding equity.

Rovito will be attending the national College Democrats of America convention, Feb. 20-23 in Washington, D.C. Naturally, he plans to enter politics after graduation.

A geography major, Rovito co-hosts "MU Crossfire" on the campus radio station, WIXQ. In a press release about his statewide office, he called the position a fine end to his college career: "It's my final contribution. Make it a good one."

Errata


Setting the record straight:

David Workman's law firm is Blakinger Byler and Thomas, not Hartman Underhill and Brubaker, as we mistakenly said in last week's column.

Also, state Rep. Katie True's Harrisburg office is 143 East Wing.

Sorry! Must have been an overdose of Christmas cookies.

Training days

Republicans interested in running for school board or municipal offices can find out more about the jobs at two information workshops that the county GOP is sponsoring next month.

A session on municipal government, with a presentation by Elam Herr of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, begins at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at Willow Valley Resort, Statesman Room A, 2416 Willow Street Pike.

School directors will be the focus of the second seminar, at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at Hempfield High School in Landisville. Timothey M. Allwein of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association will speak.

Both workshops are free. For information, call GOP headquarters, 392-4165, or e-mail info@goplancaster.com.

Political potpourri

* The Warwick Democratic Party is looking for candidates for Warwick School Board, Lititz Borough Council and Elizabeth and Warwick township supervisor in next year's municipal elections.

If you're interested, contact Greg Gilligan, the Warwick district leader, 53 N. Duke St., Suite 7, Lancaster, Pa. 17602, e-mail Greg@lancasterdems.com or phone 615-5640. Deadline is Feb. 17.

* One of the county GOP's favorite consultants, Hank Hallowell, is "The Best Campaign Consultant You Won't See on TV," says PoliticsPA.com columnist Winnie Hancock. Hallowell, who had a clean sweep of candidates in the November election - including a couple in Lancaster County, admittedly not the toughest job in the world - beat the "Rendell effect" by bringing home his Republicans in southeast Pennsylvania, despite Rendell's huge wins in the same places.

Helen Colwell Adams is an editor of the Sunday News Perspective section. E-mail her at hcolwell@lnpnews.com, or phone 291-4962.
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