Editorial Standards Policy
The Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce ("SPAC") is a private, non-profit, non-governmental membership organization. SPAC seeks to inform voters in the East Metro region on its diverse employer community to influence an economically vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive region.
SPAC publishes the East Metro Voter Guide (“EMVG”) solely to inform voters in the East Metro region about candidates seeking municipal and legislative office by providing a platform through which candidates may share their positions on issues relevant to the business community and the public. SPAC operates the EMVG as an exercise of its private editorial judgment, consistent with its organizational mission to deliver economic opportunity for its members and the broader East Metro community.
SPAC is not a government entity, does not receive public funding for the operation of the EMVG, and does not perform any governmental function in connection with the guide. The EMVG is not a public forum. Nothing in this policy or on the EMVG website creates any legal right of access to the guide, any obligation on the part of SPAC to publish any particular submission, or any contractual relationship between SPAC and any candidate who submits a questionnaire response.
I. Editorial Standards of the EMVG
All candidate questionnaire submissions are subject to the following editorial standards. These standards apply uniformly to all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, political viewpoint, ideology, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic.
SPAC may, in its sole editorial discretion, decline to publish, request revision of, or remove any questionnaire response that contains one or more of the following:
II. Reservation of Rights
SPAC expressly reserves the sole and absolute right, in its editorial discretion, to decline, redact, or remove any candidate questionnaire submission, in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason, at any time. This right exists independent of and in addition to the specific editorial standards set forth in Section I above. SPAC's exercise of this discretion is grounded in its status as a private, non-governmental organization and its constitutionally protected right to editorial judgment. No candidate has a right—statutory, constitutional, contractual, or otherwise—to compel publication of any content on the EMVG.
Submission of a questionnaire response constitutes the candidate's acknowledgment that publication is at the sole discretion of SPAC and that SPAC is under no obligation to publish any response, whether or not it conforms to the editorial standards above.
III. Non-Endorsement Disclaimer
THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMERS APPLY TO ALL CONTENT PUBLISHED ON THE EAST METRO VOTER GUIDE:
IV. Submission Procedures and Candidate Acknowledgments
By submitting a completed questionnaire response for publication on the EMVG, each candidate acknowledges and agrees to the following:
V. Review Process
Questionnaire submissions will be reviewed by SPAC staff for compliance with the editorial standards set forth in this policy. If a submission raises concerns under these standards, SPAC may, at its sole option:
VI. Consistent Application
These editorial standards will be applied consistently and without regard to the political affiliation, viewpoint, religion, or identity of any candidate. SPAC is committed to operating the EMVG as a nonpartisan voter-education resource and will apply these standards evenhandedly across all candidates and all races covered by the guide.
VII. Amendments
SPAC reserves the right to amend this policy from time to time and in doing so will update the Last Revised date. Candidates may seek the latest version of this policy anytime by contacting [email protected]. All amendments will apply to all submissions received after the date of amendment.
SPAC publishes the East Metro Voter Guide (“EMVG”) solely to inform voters in the East Metro region about candidates seeking municipal and legislative office by providing a platform through which candidates may share their positions on issues relevant to the business community and the public. SPAC operates the EMVG as an exercise of its private editorial judgment, consistent with its organizational mission to deliver economic opportunity for its members and the broader East Metro community.
SPAC is not a government entity, does not receive public funding for the operation of the EMVG, and does not perform any governmental function in connection with the guide. The EMVG is not a public forum. Nothing in this policy or on the EMVG website creates any legal right of access to the guide, any obligation on the part of SPAC to publish any particular submission, or any contractual relationship between SPAC and any candidate who submits a questionnaire response.
I. Editorial Standards of the EMVG
All candidate questionnaire submissions are subject to the following editorial standards. These standards apply uniformly to all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, political viewpoint, ideology, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic.
SPAC may, in its sole editorial discretion, decline to publish, request revision of, or remove any questionnaire response that contains one or more of the following:
- Defamatory Statements. Content that makes false statements of fact about identifiable individuals that may harm those individuals' reputations, or content that may reasonably be construed as defamatory under Minnesota law.
- Advocacy of Illegal Activity. Content that advocates, encourages, or incites imminent unlawful conduct, including but not limited to threats of violence against any person or group, advocacy of property seizures outside lawful process, or incitement to violate established law.
- Hate Speech Directed at Protected Classes. Content that directs derogatory, dehumanizing, or degrading language at individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, marital status, familial status, age, or any other characteristic protected under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 363A.
- Private Content. Content that invades privacy or discloses personal information without permission.
- False Endorsements. Political candidate endorsements presented as Chamber endorsements and content that falsely implies Chamber approval, sponsorship, partnership, or certification.
- Non-Responsive or Off-Topic Submissions. Content that fails to substantively respond to the questions asked in the candidate questionnaire, or content that is predominantly unrelated to the duties, responsibilities, or policy issues associated with the office sought.
- Other Content Warranting Exclusion. Content that, in SPAC's reasonable editorial judgment, would expose SPAC or its members to legal liability, cause material reputational harm to the organization, or otherwise be fundamentally inconsistent with the EMVG's purpose as a voter-education tool. This includes, without limitation, content that contains obscene material, threatens specific individuals, or promotes conspiracy theories that have no reasonable factual basis.
II. Reservation of Rights
SPAC expressly reserves the sole and absolute right, in its editorial discretion, to decline, redact, or remove any candidate questionnaire submission, in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason, at any time. This right exists independent of and in addition to the specific editorial standards set forth in Section I above. SPAC's exercise of this discretion is grounded in its status as a private, non-governmental organization and its constitutionally protected right to editorial judgment. No candidate has a right—statutory, constitutional, contractual, or otherwise—to compel publication of any content on the EMVG.
Submission of a questionnaire response constitutes the candidate's acknowledgment that publication is at the sole discretion of SPAC and that SPAC is under no obligation to publish any response, whether or not it conforms to the editorial standards above.
III. Non-Endorsement Disclaimer
THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMERS APPLY TO ALL CONTENT PUBLISHED ON THE EAST METRO VOTER GUIDE:
- Inclusion of any candidate's questionnaire responses on the East Metro Voter Guide does not constitute an endorsement of that candidate by the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, the SPAC Political Action Committee ("SPAC PAC"), or any of their officers, directors, employees, or members.
- All questionnaire responses published on the EMVG reflect solely the personal views and opinions of the individual candidates who submitted them. Candidate responses do not represent the views, positions, policies, or opinions of SPAC, the SPAC PAC, or the East Metro business community.
- The SPAC PAC is a separate legal entity, independent of the Saint Paul Area Chamber, and is registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. The PAC's endorsement process is separate and distinct from publication of the EMVG. A candidate's inclusion in or exclusion from the EMVG has no bearing on the SPAC PAC's endorsement decisions, which are made independently by the PAC Board of Directors based on separate criteria.
- The EMVG is provided solely as a voter-education resource. Voters are encouraged to evaluate all candidates based on a broad range of qualifications and information sources beyond the questionnaire responses published by SPAC.
IV. Submission Procedures and Candidate Acknowledgments
By submitting a completed questionnaire response for publication on the EMVG, each candidate acknowledges and agrees to the following:
- The candidate has read and understands this Editorial Standards Policy.
- The candidate understands that SPAC reserves the right to decline to publish the submission, in whole or in part, in its sole discretion.
- The candidate represents and warrants that all statements in the submission are the candidate's own and that the candidate assumes full legal responsibility for the content of the submission.
- The candidate affirms based on knowledge and belief that all information submitted is true and accurate and has taken reasonable steps to exclude false, misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent claims.
- The candidate only includes links, images, logos, materials, and other intellectual property that the candidate has prior authorization and permission to use.
- The candidate agrees that SPAC shall not be liable for any claim arising from the candidate's statements, and the candidate will hold SPAC harmless from any third-party claims arising from the content of the submission.
V. Review Process
Questionnaire submissions will be reviewed by SPAC staff for compliance with the editorial standards set forth in this policy. If a submission raises concerns under these standards, SPAC may, at its sole option:
- Publish the submission in full.
- Contact the candidate and request revision of specific content that does not meet the editorial standards, providing the candidate a reasonable opportunity to submit a revised response.
- Decline to publish the submission and notify the candidate in writing, citing the applicable editorial standard(s).
- Publish the submission with appropriate editorial notation where SPAC determines that partial publication serves the voter-education mission of the EMVG while omitting content that violates these standards.
VI. Consistent Application
These editorial standards will be applied consistently and without regard to the political affiliation, viewpoint, religion, or identity of any candidate. SPAC is committed to operating the EMVG as a nonpartisan voter-education resource and will apply these standards evenhandedly across all candidates and all races covered by the guide.
VII. Amendments
SPAC reserves the right to amend this policy from time to time and in doing so will update the Last Revised date. Candidates may seek the latest version of this policy anytime by contacting [email protected]. All amendments will apply to all submissions received after the date of amendment.