STANTON : City Symbol for City Business Only

Two months after a councilman sent out a controversial political mailer embossed with the Stanton municipal logo, the City Council passed a resolution banning the use of the symbol except for official city business.

In August, Councilman Sal Sapien mailed 6,000 flyers blasting his council colleagues for being “ineffective and self-serving.” An outdated version of the city logo appeared on the mailers, which prompted some people to believe that they were paid for by the city.

Mayor Edward L. Allen said the situation triggered the restrictive resolution, which passed on a 3-1 vote at Tuesday night’s council meeting. Sapien cast the only dissenting vote, calling the measure “unnecessary--one more step toward having a totalitarian state in Stanton.”

City Atty. Thomas W. Allen said the resolution forbids the use of the city logo or any “reasonable facsimile thereof” on any personal or political communication such as Sapien’s flyer.

The mailer alleged that a “majority voting bloc that controls the city is rapidly ruining our local economy and bankrupting our city.” It referred to Mayor Allen and council members David John Shawver and Martha V. Weishaupt.

Mayor Allen, who is seeking reelection, said the letter was filled with “lies, half-truths and innuendoes. Sal’s letter would give the normal person the impression that it came from the city, and in reality it’s his own opinion.”

Determination of whether a communication violates the resolution will be made by the council on a case-by-case basis, City Atty. Allen said. A violation of the resolution carries no penalty.

“No one has ever misused the city logo,” Sapien said. “As a city councilman, I have a right to use it any time I feel like it. I have no idea why (the resolution) was passed.”

Sapien refused to say whether he would abide by it.

“I will reserve my decision and study the issue and the resolution more carefully and make a decision next time I send a letter to my constituents,” he said.