Mayoral Campaign Mailer Assailed

Escalating an already heated mayoral campaign, a union mailer sent on behalf of candidate Antonio Villaraigosa uses a metal bullet casing to emphasize the tough choices facing Los Angeles children.

The mailer, which the Villaraigosa campaign said it did not have a hand in producing, is signed by Day Higuchi, president of United Teachers-Los Angeles, and says the empty shell--which is not an actual cartridge and thus could not be fired--symbolizes gangs and guns. The envelope also contains a school ruler, which he says represents a good education.

In the accompanying letter, Higuchi tells voters that Villaraigosa, a onetime teachers union organizer, will help the most children make the right choice.

Higuchi said in an interview Saturday that he did not know that the mailer, sent by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor to about 140,000 union households in the city, would contain the shell casing. He apologized to those who were upset by it.

“The bullet casing itself was not something I was aware of ahead of time,” he said. “If I had sent it out from UTLA, I wouldn’t have done it. . . . If anyone was disturbed by it, I apologize on behalf of all of us at UTLA.”

The provocative mailer sparked an immediate response from Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn and state Controller Kathleen Connell, two of six leading candidates for mayor in the fast-approaching April 10 election. Connell called the mailer exploitative. Hahn was even more incensed by what he and others viewed as a crass symbol of violence arriving uninvited in Los Angeles homes through the mail.

“It’s outrageous. It’s insensitive,” Hahn said. “It’s an insult to the teachers of Los Angeles” and an affront to families who have lost children to gun violence. He called on Villaraigosa to disown the mailer. “Is a bullet to be a symbol of his campaign?” Hahn asked.

The mayoral race has become increasingly intense as election day nears. Hahn and Villaraigosa in particular have taken to daily attacks on one another, with rivals Connell, Steve Soboroff, Joel Wachs and Xavier Becerra also joining the fray.

Elena Stern, a spokeswoman for Villaraigosa, said the former lawmaker never authorized or approved the mailer.

“It sounds like the mailer went too far,” she said. “But Antonio can only be responsible for his campaign and not the mailings of others.”

Villaraigosa’s campaign consultant, Parke Skelton, said he expressed displeasure with the mailing to labor federation officials after the campaign began receiving calls from upset voters.

“It’s an appalling piece of mail. It shouldn’t have been sent out,” he said. “It’s a very inappropriate way to discuss a serious topic.”

Hahn questioned how Villaraigosa’s campaign could not have known that a mailer with a shell casing was being sent on his behalf. “Let him convince the people of Los Angeles that he didn’t know about this piece,” he said. At the very least, Hahn said, the mailer reflected poor judgment.

Connell was adamant that Villaraigosa cannot disclaim responsibility for the mailing. “I don’t think you have the luxury of disowning what your supporters do,” she said. “I’ve never believed that is an excuse.”

The state controller said she believes voters will be offended. “It’s an example of exploiting the recent tragic school shootings,” she said.

Even as Villaraigosa’s representatives disavowed it, County Federation of Labor chief Miguel Contreras defended the mailer and rejected the criticism that it was insensitive. He said the labor federation did not want its message to union members on Villaraigosa’s behalf to get lost in a last-minute blitz of campaign mail.

“After all, we’re talking about the issue of school safety to our members and teachers,” he said. The shell casing, he added, was “a way of getting their attention.”

Contreras noted that the San Diego County community of Santee, scene of last month’s mass school shooting, is only a few hours from Los Angeles classrooms. And he said this is not the first political campaign to use a shell casing in a mailer.

Skelton said similar mailings with a casing and a ruler were developed by Sacramento political consultant Richard Ross on behalf of Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) last year and for other state lawmakers in 1992. Ross is working as a consultant to the labor federation, Skelton said.

Higuchi said he was very surprised by the casing in the envelope with his letter. “It never really entered my mind that someone would put an actual bullet casing in there,” he said.

The mailer makes the point that Villaraigosa grew up on tough Los Angeles streets and dropped out of one high school and was kicked out of another. But he overcame those difficulties, went to college, became a union organizer and ultimately was elected to the Assembly.

“I think the message was really against school violence, gangs and crime,” Higuchi said. But, he added: “The message was not appropriate.”