OXNARD : Plisky Condemns New Lopez Mailer

In the final stretch of the campaign, the Oxnard mayoral race heated up Sunday when City Councilman Michael Plisky, a candidate for mayor, denounced fellow council member and mayoral candidate Manuel Lopez for sending mailers late in the campaign that Plisky called “a hit piece on me.”

The flyers, put out by Citizens to Elect Dr. Manuel Lopez and received by Oxnard voters on Saturday, is titled “Hypocrisy” and distinguishes between what it calls “Mike Plisky Fiction” and “Mike Plisky Fact” on jobs, affordable housing and law enforcement.

The mailer said that although Plisky claims to have fought for economic development to increase employment opportunities in Oxnard, he voted against the Oxnard Business Park, which would have brought 673 jobs.

Calling the flyer “a sleazy piece of work,” Plisky called a news conference Sunday at the Oxnard Police Department, denouncing the late timing of the attack and saying he had no chance to adequately respond before Tuesday’s election.

“It’s an insult to my supporters and to the community. When he sent this out yesterday, he stepped over the line,” Plisky said. He said the flyer violated the state code of fair campaign practices.

At the start of the campaign, both Plisky and Lopez voluntarily signed pledges to adhere to the code, which prohibits character defamation or scurrilous attacks on fellow candidates.

Plisky acknowledged that he voted against the proposed business park, but said “there’s no way my vote against that would cost jobs.” He also denied other charges in the mailer.

Lopez attended the news conference with a group of his supporters to defend the mailer.

Lopez denied that the mailer was timed to prevent Plisky from responding, saying all of the information was discussed previously in public forums and letters to local newspapers.

“This is not new information,” Lopez said in an interview.

Lopez also said the flyer did not violate the code of fair campaign practices.

“If you read that code, it specifically tells you to tell the truth the way you see it,” Lopez said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.”