We hear a lot about "Chapel Hill values" these days. Traditionally, those are code words for left to far-left philosophies on social and fiscal matters. Chapel Hill values have been invoked throughout the 2009 election cycle, as in this candidate possesses them and that candidate is a threat to them.

The truth of the matter, as high-end homebuilder Carol Ann Zinn pointed out in an interview last week, is that Chapel Hill is more mainstream today than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Gone are the days of lockstep progressive thought. How else to explain the fact that the Orange County Tax Revolt was spawned in neighboring Carrboro and resonated in Chapel Hill, and that there is a host of Chapel Hill Town Council candidates running against the status quo of profligate spending and are seeking fiscal restraint.

One thing most everyone would agree on when it comes to values is honesty and transparency. That appears to be lacking in the sneak attack waged by former Town Councilman Cam Hill against mayoral candidate Matt Czajkowski. Hill lost to Czajkowski in the 2007 municipal election and, apparently, retains a grudge. He has admitted to mailing an anonymous item from an unheard-of political action committee that impugns Czajkowski's character and categorizes the councilman as "out of sync with Chapel Hill values."

The mailer seems to violate a number of election laws. But there's a loophole. Hill has 10 days from incurring the expense for the mailing to properly register as a political action committee, which could erase most of the infractions. It appears he timed his plot to avoid having to come forward until after the election, but was found out anyhow.

So long as the state regulates campaign speech and spending, it should look for ways to close that loophole. In the meantime, Hill deserves a solid round of raspberries and reproach for his dirty tricks.