HUNTINGTON BEACH : Unsigned Mailers Spark Complaints

A campaign mailer that supports the candidacies of Mayor Jim Silva and Planning Commissioner Susie Newman in the Nov. 3 City Council election has come under fire for failing to disclose its sponsorship and containing an unauthorized endorsement.

Resident Gene Gott said Thursday he has filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission because the campaign literature that arrived at homes this week allegedly violates state law by failing to identify who is responsible for the material.

The mailer was also criticized by City Councilwoman Linda Moulton-Patterson, who said that though she supports Newman she objects to her name being used in an unsigned mailer.

Moulton-Patterson is quoted in the mailer.

Both Newman and Silva disavowed the flyer.

Newman, who said she does not know who is responsible for the mailer, said the endorsement and other information in it were taken from her campaign literature without her knowledge.

She said she has strived to run an independent campaign and doesn’t want to be affiliated with any other candidate.

Silva also said he does not know who is responsible for the flyer.

In criticizing the unauthorized use of her endorsement, Moulton-Patterson said, she is “furious about this flyer. It’s very misleading. This isn’t ethical and it violates the law and I can’t condone it. The people of Huntington Beach deserve to know who is paying for these expensive flyers.”

The four-page, multicolored flyer is printed on expensive, slick paper and contains several photos of Newman and Silva.

The first page declares it is a report on taxes and in large, red letters urges recipients to “Open Immediately.”

Late in the week, residents also began receiving a second unsigned mailer that supported the reelection of City Councilman Don MacAllister.

MacAllister said he was “not happy” about it, but said he had no control over the group that mailed the flyer.

Under state law, candidates or groups supporting candidates must identify themselves on material that is mailed to more than 200 addresses, said Carol Thorp, spokeswoman for the Fair Political Practices Commission.

As is the practice of the agency, Thorp said she couldn’t confirm or deny that a complaint had been filed.

In an expenditure report received Thursday by the city clerk’s office, a committee based in Sacramento called the Citizens for Responsible Representation reported spending $6,000 each for Silva and for Newman for printing and mailing a brochure.

It reported making a payment of $4,250 for postage on behalf of MacAllister. It also reported an estimated payment of $7,750 for printing MacAllister’s brochure.

Gott said he filed the complaint on the Silva and Newman flyer “as a citizen of Huntington Beach” who is “tired of seeing elections bought by slick mailers full of promises and lies.”

Gott said he also intends to file a complaint about the MacAllister mailer.