Political Flyer’s Fake Signature Sparks Dispute

Anna Downey, a 77-year-old resident, said Wednesday that she was “shocked” when she discovered that her name and faked signature had been placed on a campaign mailer supporting Mayor Fred Hunter’s reelection.

“I like him and I’m going to vote for him, but I didn’t know anything about the letter,” Downey said in a telephone interview from her home early in the day. “That’s not my signature on it. . . . I think it’s all a political racket.”

Downey said she was not aware that Hunter was using her name on a mailer blasting his opponent, Councilman Tom Daly, for a 1989 vote against an ordinance that would have required sprinklers to be provided in new homes.

“I know nothing about Tom Daly,” she said.

Downey said she found out only Tuesday about the campaign mailer, which purports to be a letter from her to the voter, when city residents began calling her and asking questions about it.

“I couldn’t get any sleep last night because of it,” she said.

Hunter acknowledged Wednesday that the signature on the letter was not Downey’s but defended the mailer, saying that he went over the contents of the letter with Downey last Saturday and that she consented to it.

“She knew the contents of 95% of the letter,” Hunter said. “She was aware of the letter, but not every finite word.”

Hunter added that when he had spoken to Downey the letter had not yet been drafted. After the letter was completed, he “had not had an opportunity” to show it to her before it was mailed.

Hunter said that it is a common campaign practice to sign someone’s name on a mailer with his or her consent and that it was apparent to him that Downey had agreed to have the letter written in her name.

The mayor described himself as a “longtime friend” of Downey and her husband. “They’re good folks,” he said.

When asked to explain why Downey did not recall giving him permission to write the letter under her name, Hunter said, “She’s an elderly lady.”

Hunter said he was upset that the mailer, which was supposed to support his attack on Daly as being beholden to development interests, had turned into a political problem rather than an asset.

The disputed mailer added an odd twist to an already contentious campaign for mayor. As word of it spread through Anaheim, Daly seized on its circumstances to call for Hunter’s resignation.

Simultaneously, Hunter went to Downey’s house on Kroeger Street to discuss the mailer with her. In fact, it was at her house that Hunter, who answered her telephone, was reached for comment.

Hunter said Downey no longer wanted to talk to the media.

In criticizing Hunter’s actions in putting together the mailer, Daly described them as “typical Fred Hunter. . . . He has no respect for the law and no respect for people. He’s a desperate, scared man who will do anything to keep his grip on City Hall. . . .

“If he’s a man he should accept full responsibility for this and resign. If he has an ounce of integrity, he will resign. Shame on him.”

Hunter’s campaign manager, Dave Ellis, said the “issue of the signature is a weak one,” noting that Downey’s actual signature is illegible. He said the real issue is about Daly’s opposition to the sprinkler ordinance.

Ellis declined to say when the flyer was mailed or how many people received it. Several residents said they had received a copy on Tuesday.

The one-page letter appears to be written by Downey and has her name and address on top. It questions Daly’s employment as a lobbyist for a builders’ association and his votes on issues affecting developers, such as the fire sprinkler ordinance.