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November 5, 2007· scvtalk.com · PHP-Nuke (SCVTalk 1.0) · Wayback capture

Misleading Mailer targets SCV Dems ahead of election

Joe Messina, Dan Mortensen, Rachel Neville, and Gloria Mercado-Fortine are listed as "the Team for Democratic Voters" in a political mailer sent to registered SCV Democrats last week by an out-of-town group calling itself the Democratic Voters Choice, SCVTalk has learned. According to the mailer, the four candidates (two for the Hart Board and two for the Newhall Water Board) or their supporters paid to have their names, photos and a brief statement included in the mailer. Their true political affiliation, however, is not listed, and some SCV Democrats were angered by the mailer which they view as an attempt to trick Democratic voters in the SCV.

Newhall Water board incumbent Lynne Plambeck, who is campaigning for her seat on the board, sent an email to supporters on Sunday with a copy of the mailer. "If you read the mailer carefully, you will see that all candidates paid to get on this mailer and in very small print you will see that it is NOT an "Official Democratic Party" mailing. But everything else in the mailer would make you think the Dems are all supporting these people," Plambeck said. The group, Democratic Voters Choice, has been in the news before for their controversial mailers. In 2005, the same group sent out a Democratic Voter's Guide that advised recepients to vote no on two propositions when the state Democratic party's official position was "yes." And in San Diego, voters in a city council election received another "Democratic Voters" guide that urged recepients to vote for two Republicans. Democratic Voters Choice is one of several "slate mailers" in the State of California. It appears to function as a business, with contributors paying to have official-looking mailers sent to voters in targeted elections around the state. In 2006, for instance, the firm sent a mailer to voters that looked like a Jury Summons, but was in reality a voting guide. Searches on the group's listed address, 728 W. Edna Place, Covina CA, revealed dozens of political candidates -some Democratic and some Republican- who have that location listed. Phone calls to numbers associated with the group in the 626 and 818 area codes went unanswered as of Monday morning. The mailer arrived in Santa Clarita mailboxes just days before tomorrow's election for seats on the Newhall Water Board, the Hart Board, and a school district board. Generally, elections for local board seats are non-partisan. No mention is made of each candidate's political affiliation on the ballot or on voting materials sent to residents. That fact had some local Democrats questioning the legality of the mailers. One planned to contact the Los Angeles County Registrar to inquire whether the misleading mailers were legal. The mailer includes four photos of the candidates, including what appears to be a mistaken photo of Rachel Neville, the Castaic resident running for a seat on the Newhall Water Board. SCVTalk sent an email to Joe Messina asking for comments on the mailer, but has not received a response yet. This story will be udpated when/if Messina responds. Scanned Copy of Mailer - PDF

Comments (8)

  1. mikeNovember 5 at 9:10 AM PT
    This is dirty stuff for sure, but the wrong picture for Rachel Neville almost makes up for it. Seriously though, this is very very dirty, especially coming so close to election day.
  2. socalpunditNovember 5 at 9:51 AM PT
    This is in fact SOP for the political world. I do not condone it nor do I believe in mirroring your opponents sins but teh fact of the matter is that this is done with regards to both parties.
  3. jeffNovember 5 at 10:27 AM PT
    Looks like Republicans received the mailer too. It's identical, except they switched out "The Team for Democrats" with "Citizens for Good Government" and swapped the donkey for an elephant. This is consistent with what this group has done in other CA elections.
  4. TimSrNovember 5 at 10:40 AM PT
    On Wednesday I will post an essay on the West Ranch Beacon that explains these "for profit" "slate mailers"; what they are, how they work, and why they are actually probably unassailable under the First Amendment.
  5. CalNovember 5 at 2:37 PM PT
    I spent the day speaking with individuals from the LA County District Attorney's Office, as well as people from the California Fair Practices Commission. According to officials in the DA's office you can do the following to file an official complaint: They are willing to consider looking at our situation in Santa Clarita in general but what caught their interest is the fact that there is a false photograph on the mailer. Thank you Jeff for your well-written article. It was useful reference point when I spoke with investigators. Send your letter to demand an investigation to: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Public Integrity Division Attention Head Deputy DA Dave Demerjian 320 West Temple St., Rm 766 Los Angeles , California 90012 With your letter, include a phone number that you can be contacted at. Also, include a photo copy (front & back) of the mailer. Visit the DA's website at www.da.co.la.us Link [www.da.co.la.us]
  6. CalNovember 5 at 2:37 PM PT
    I spent the day speaking with individuals from the LA County District Attorney's Office, as well as people from the California Fair Practices Commission. According to officials in the DA's office you can do the following to file an official complaint: They are willing to consider looking at our situation in Santa Clarita in general but what caught their interest is the fact that there is a false photograph on the mailer. Thank you Jeff for your well-written article. It was useful reference point when I spoke with investigators. Send your letter to demand an investigation to: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Public Integrity Division Attention Head Deputy DA Dave Demerjian 320 West Temple St., Rm 766 Los Angeles , California 90012 With your letter, include a phone number that you can be contacted at. Also, include a photo copy (front & back) of the mailer. Visit the DA's website at www.da.co.la.us Link [www.da.co.la.us]
  7. mikeNovember 5 at 4:33 PM PT
    no comment from joe? Class act. I'd abstain from voting if this weren't the only race on my ballot.
  8. mikeNovember 6 at 8:58 AM PT
    OK, voted. Went with the incumbents, but I wanted to write in Jeff Wilson and Hall of Fame 1st baseman (and longtime SCV'er) Eddie Murray. But asking for a write-in ballot with only one race on the ballot would have made me feel like an asshole.

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