Campaign mailer sparks uproar

Written by Eric Firpo
Friday, 24 October 2008

Local Democrats complain mailer gives the impression that Democrats are urging voters to cast ballots for three Republicans in two local non-partisan races.

Local Democrats over fuming over a campaign mailer that gives the impression that the Democratic Party recommends people vote for three Republicans in two local non-partisan races.

But one candidate who has his name on the slate said it’s a good way to reach as many voters as possible, and if the ad is misleading, blame the company that makes money to create them.

The mailer titled, “Voter Information Guide for Democrats,” was sent out this week to registered Democrats all over the county, with the pamphlet tailored to local races in each city, local Democrats say.

In Tracy, it recommends people vote for Democrats Barack Obama for president, Congressman Jerry McNerney, Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, and James Morris, a San Joaquin County Superior Court judge candidate, as well as re-election candidates Mayor Brent Ives and Councilman Steve Abercrombie, and council candidate Mike Maciel. The latter three are registered Republicans, though party affiliation is absent on the ballot in local races.

The mailer also lists recommendations on statewide ballot measure, and urges people to support gay marriage by voting no on Proposition 8.

The mailers have become more common in recent years, as have complaints that they mislead voters.

A hastily organized press conference today in front of City Hall was a case in point, as more than a dozen local Democratic party activists denounced the mailer as an underhanded.

"This is the first in a volley of what will be a barrage of deceptive, misleading or just plain false” ads that voters will be exposed to from now until Election Day, charged mayoral candidate Celeste Garamendi.

The mailer was published by a company called Voter Information Guide in Sherman Oaks, Calif. The company makes money by charging candidates to have their names placed on mailers sent out to voters.

Local Democratic Party officials were incensed, and complained the flier suggests tacit endorsement of Ives, Abercrombie and Maciel when in fact local Democrats voted to endorse other candidates.

The Democratic Club of Greater Tracy endorsed Garamendi for mayor, and Councilwoman Irene Sundberg and council candidate Larry Gamino for two seats on the City Council.

The San Joaquin County Democratic Central Committee also endorsed those three for local office here, as did the state party.

Democrat Dilip Tamhane, 65, a retired executive who’s lived in Tracy for the past year and a half, complained the mailer is especially devious to newcomers who may not know Tracy’s political landscape.

“They’re trying to give us the impression (Ives, Abercrombie and Maciel) are part of the preferred Democratic candidate list,” he said.

Ives and Abercrombie said they had nothing to do with the mailer and didn’t know about it until the Tracy Press called them.

Abercrombie thought the mailer was misleading, since it seems to imply that candidates were backed by Democrats. And the councilman said he was a little taken aback that someone can put his name on a slate without asking him first.

Ives said he understood why Democrats might be upset over the flier, but he complained that it was Garamendi who first introduced party politics into the mayoral race when she sent out her own mailer that said, “There’s only one Democrat” in the mayor’s race.

“It inserted party politics in a non-partisan race,” Ives said. “I’ve never done that, and I never will do that.”

Ives said Garamendi’s mailer sends a message to voters who are in the opposite party “that you’re not going to represent that other side, to some degree. I think it’s inappropriate where I sit.”

Maciel saw nothing wrong with the mailer, which was paid for by San Joaquin County Supervisor Leroy Ornellas of Tracy, and said any candidate can have their name appear on it as long as they pay money.

He said he’s endorsed by some local Democrats, including former Assemblywoman Barbara Matthews. He’s also endorsed by the Republican Party, he said.

But a slate mailer is a great way to get a “bang for your buck,” Maciel said, by reaching thousands of voters yet spending only a few hundred dollars. It’s merely a smart strategy in a non-partisan race.

“What you’re trying to do is get your name out there,” he said.

Ornellas sees nothing wrong with the mailer.

“Democrats have to understand it’s a non-partisan seat,” he said. “In non-partisan seats, we go all over the place. We’re not trying to pull the wool over anybody. Get over it Democrats. It’s OK. Obama’s gonna win. You’ll be fine.”