Ex-Costa Mesa council candidate Humphrey won’t be charged over use of city seal on campaign mailer
Former Costa Mesa City Council candidate Jay Humphrey will not face charges stemming from his campaign’s use of the city seal on a mailer.
The Orange County district attorney’s office said Thursday that it will not file criminal charges against the Mesa Verde resident, who in last month’s election placed fifth among seven candidates seeking three open seats on the five-member council.
Costa Mesa city officials in October asked the district attorney’s office to review the case after they found that mailers sent by Humphrey’s campaign might have improperly included the city seal.
“We reviewed all the available evidence and concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove that a crime took place beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Ebrahim Baytieh, assistant district attorney supervising the special prosecutions unit.
The emblem depicted on the flier is part of the larger logo of the Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department. The Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn., which represents the city’s fire personnel, endorsed Humphrey in the council race and the mailer was meant to tout that support.
“I’m glad the [district attorney] realized it was an honest mistake,” Humphrey said Friday. “I’m glad it’s finally resolved.”
Costa Mesa’s municipal code prohibits use or reproduction of the seal “for any purpose other than for the official business” of the city. Unauthorized use of the seal can be a misdemeanor, according to the city code.
The code also forbids placing “any imitation of the city seal on any written or printed material that is designated, calculated, intended or likely to confuse, deceive or mislead the public or cause the reader of such written or printed material to believe it to be an official city publication.”
In October, Humphrey described the issue as an “inadvertent error that I take full responsibility for.”
“The moment I became aware that it was out like that, that the city seal had been used, I immediately called my staff and had them remove that seal from any of the campaign materials and to make sure we did not use it in the future,” he told the Daily Pilot at the time.
The incident came to a head after Costa Mesa officials received complaints about Humphrey’s flier, according to an October memo from city Chief Executive Tom Hatch to council members and some city staff members.
“It was clear to staff that the use of the city seal was not authorized and a violation of the municipal code,” Hatch wrote in the memo.
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
