Lynn Wessell; Master of Pro-Growth Campaigns

Lynn Wessell, the controversial public relations consultant known for pro-growth political campaigns dominated by expensive mass mailings, well-organized phone banks and highly professional public opinion polls, has died after a brief illness. He was 54.

Wessell died Christmas Day in Moorpark in Ventura County of complications following back surgery, a previously undisclosed diabetic condition and a severe postoperative infection, said Cathy Connelly, vice president of his Burbank-based Wessell Co.

Wessell was a political philosophy professor who became a consultant in the early 1970s. He became a strategist for conservative causes, helping among other things to defeat a statewide handgun control measure.

He was best known, however, for his pro-growth efforts in battles over development controls. He orchestrated the defeat of several slow-growth measures, including those on the ballot earlier this year in Santa Clarita and Pasadena.

“In many people’s opinion, certainly mine, he’s the dean of grass-roots politics,” said Marlee Lauffer, director of community relations for Newhall Land & Farming Co., a key opponent of the Santa Clarita slow-growth measure.

His opponents, however, were less laudatory, with one supporter of the Pasadena growth control law saying it was defeated by “a smear campaign.”

“There’s no rule that says you have to represent everybody’s point of view,” Wessell once said.

To persuade voters, Wessell mass-produced realistic-looking tabloid newspapers filled with favorable news about embattled clients.

He created the “West Covina Chronicle” in 1981, trying to defuse opposition to the BKK Corp. landfill there.

In 1984, Wessell put out the “Santa Clarita Valley Chronicle” to polish the image of Space Ordnance Systems, a now-defunct defense contractor being criticized for pollution.

Wessell published the “California Sanitation News” to tout the benefits of the Sunshine Canyon landfill operated by Browning-Ferris Industries.

And in 1987 he led an unsuccessful campaign to have the Azusa Country Club converted to homes and light industrial sites.

Wessell is survived by his wife, Toni, daughters Kate, Leslie and Lynette, son Scott, a sister and a granddaughter.