Sanchez Says Party Mailer Misleads Voters

Los Angeles City Council candidate Corinne Sanchez formally accused the State Democratic Party on Thursday of misleading voters in a mailer that she alleges implied her opponent in the 7th District contest is the only Democrat in the race.

In a letter to state party Chairman Art Torres, Sanchez demanded that he immediately send a correction to all voters who received the mailers supporting rival Alex Padilla in the June 8 election.

“It is appalling that the Democratic Party, of which I am an active member, would stoop to such dishonest last-minute tactics,” Sanchez wrote. “I can only conclude that you intended to deceive the voters.”

Sanchez said she is not only a Democrat, but has been a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, which spent $7,000 on the mailer after the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee endorsed Padilla.

Padilla is also a member of the committee, which has 2,700 members, although neither candidate was involved in the decision to spend money on the Padilla mailer.

The mailer reads: “Vote Democratic on June 8. Alex Padilla. Democrat. For City Council.”

The mailer also includes a letter from Torres that lauds Padilla for his service on issues important to the Democratic Party.

Sanchez demanded that the state party send a new mailer by Saturday that clearly states she too is a Democrat.

Bob Mulholland, a political consultant for the party, dismissed her complaint, saying the mailer does not say Padilla is the only Democrat in the race, only that he is a Democrat who has been endorsed by the party.

“We get that same letter from everybody we don’t endorse,” Mulholland said. “Los Angeles’ Democrats voted for these endorsements in a public meeting. We never respond to people who have lost the endorsement.”

Sanchez said she has the backing of many Democratic leaders, including County Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky.

Steve Gray-Barkan, a political consultant for Sanchez, said the mailer may violate the rules for independent expenditure campaigns, which prohibit coordination between an independent campaign and a candidate.

Padilla’s campaign manager, Rick Taylor, said Padilla had nothing to do with the party leadership’s decision to launch an independent campaign.

The intervention of the state Democratic Party in the 7th District sparked protests earlier in the week from Sanchez and others who said it undermines the nonpartisan nature of local elections.