The Ads in Favor of the New Royals/Chiefs Sales Tax Are Misleading

On February 29, I sent the following email to the general managers of four television stations in Kansas City:

On or around Tuesday, February 27, your television station began airing a 30-second ad for The Committee to Keep The Chiefs and Royals in Jackson County. As you know, the Federal Communications Commission “expects broadcasters to be responsible to the community they serve and act with reasonable care to ensure that advertisements aired on their stations are not false or misleading.” Since the referenced ad contains statements that are misleading and in a substantial way misinform your viewers about what is at stake in the April 2 election, I am writing to ask that you pull the ad from the air.

• • At around the 11 second mark, the narrator urges viewers to, “Vote yes on question 1 that keeps the Chiefs and Royals in Jackson County.” As you know, the ordinance on which Jackson County voters are being asked to vote does not compel either team to remain in the county.  The language of the ordinance, available online here, merely states that a new sales tax is contingent upon several factors, a new lease being among them.  As you also know, there is no new lease agreement as of this writing.
  • At about the 22 second mark, the ad states that the measure includes, “no new taxes.” This is also demonstrably untrue. The voters of Jackson County are being asked to vote on the measure exactly because it is a new tax. The 2006 measure approved by voters, available online here, contains no language regarding an extension. The measure voters are being asked to approve in this election, available online here, clearly distinguishes in section 2 the difference between the current levy and “the new levy.”

I appreciate that a 30-second spot cannot be an exhaustive discussion of the matter at hand. But the claim that the vote imposes no new taxes is incorrect. Were there no such vote, the current tax would expire on September 30, 2031. Also, the current tax was for different things than the new, longer time-frame tax. The Committee to Keep The Chiefs and Royals in Jackson County could state that the new tax is the same amount as the current tax, but the claim that there is no new taxes intentionally leaves the impression that nothing will change. In fact, voters are agreeing to a new and different tax, and for a much longer period of time.

The Committee is perfectly able, given their resources, to make any number of arguments in the few weeks of the campaign. I do not doubt that they will. But your station should insist that their paid media be clear and honest with your viewers. This ad is substantially misleading and should be pulled off the air.

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your decision.

I received a reply from only one of them, who wrote on March 2:

Thank you for your email.

 I appreciate you reaching out with your concern.

We have reviewed the ad and the advertiser’s substantiation for the factual statements.  Based on this information we will continue to run the ad.

The ad – and any contrary speech — is part of the open and robust political discourse upon which the First Amendment is based.

I asked to be provided with the advertiser’s substantiation of its statements, but have not yet received it. We will share that with you if and when we receive it.