In 2006, the City expanded its Vote Ethics Program for residents.  The program helps residents to develop practical skills to assess the ethics of a campaign, and encourages voters to hold candidates accountable at the ballot box for keeping campaign ethics promises.

The 2006 expanded program included a variety of educational efforts and opportunities for discussion such as a Vote Ethics booth at the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival, a Vote Ethics Guide inserted in the City's September newspaper to all residents and businesses, a checklist for assessing an ethical campaign that was sent with October utility bills to every City utilities customer, special messages printed on the October utility bill envelopes as well as the bills themselves, new sections of this Santa Clara City website on the Vote Ethics program, and talks about the program conducted with community groups by the City Clerk and the City's Ethics Consultant.  In addition, these four mailers were sent with specific program messages:

• Utility bill insert sent to all municipal utility customers throughout the month of October, titled "No matter what route you take to making voting decisions...Make ethics part of your candidate selection criteria" (PDF) also which provided the City's Code of Ethics & Values, along with a Voter Checklist for Evaluating Candidates
• Informational postcard sent to all households on or about October 13 titled "What do you know about the candidates? Making an educated choice at the ballot box relies on solid information," (PDF) urging people to watch upcoming campaign forums, telling them where they can get more information on candidates, and reminding them to register to vote
• Informational postcard sent to households with registered voters on or about about Oct. 19 titled "It takes more than wishes to run a campaign.  Who is supporting the candidates?," (PDF) covering such topics as looking closely at campaign mailers to understand their source and motives, and suggesting voters check to see who supports each candidate by reviewing disclosure forms posted online or available at City Hall
• A reprint of the Vote Ethics Guide (PDF) originally mailed to every address in the City in the quarterly municipal newspaper, and redistributed as a stand-alone mail piece on or about October 24.  This time the Vote Ethics Guide was sent to registered households.
• Informational postcard sent to registered households on or about October 30 titled "When candidates battle it out, ethics can get scrambled," (PDF) asking voters to demand a fair fight from candidates with truthful, respectful campaigns and clear statements about their views and record. This mail piece also urged voters to pay attention to last-minute mailers to make sure they are not making unsubstantiated negative charges, and to watch the Final Word Forum (PDF) the night before the election.

The goal of these mailed pieces is to help residents focus on campaign ethics issues much more than they have in the past.  Through a recent Ethics Survey conducted by the City of Santa Clara, residents have indicated that they expect candidates and their campaign workers to conduct honest, fair and respectful campaigns that stick to the facts, focus on issues and explore relevant differences between candidates and positions. 

Following this series of voter outreach on the City's Vote Ethics program, a candidates forum, "The Final Word," was held the night before the election. The event was an opportunity for candidates to debate any last-minute issues. It was also an opportunity for voters to ask candidates about their campaign tactics, and for candidates to be congratulated for running honest, fair and respectful campaigns.