Campaign Mailer

A state political watchdog agency is conducting an investigation of a 1997 campaign mailer that accused a City Council candidate of being involved in a scandal. An investigator from the state Fair Political Practices Commission recently visited La Puente City Hall to examine city files related to the mailer, officials said.

The most powerful labor organization in Los Angeles refused Friday to back away from a campaign mailer in which it urges voters to support Wendy Greuel for mayor because she "will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. " Even though Greuel has said she supports the higher "living wage" only for workers at large hotels, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor chief Maria Elena Durazo accused the media of "nitpicking" when she was questioned about the accuracy of the mailer, which went to Latino voters.

City Councilman Bernard C. Parks blasted a campaign mailer sent to voters this week by the Los Angeles Police Protective League that claimed he "took 1,000 police officers off our streets. " "What they say is absolutely a lie ? you can't physically do it ? you can't physically take 1,000 people off the street as one councilman," Parks said. The former Los Angeles Police Department chief is seeking a third and final term representing his South Los Angeles district. Parks has long had an adversarial relationship with the league, which opposed his bid for a second term as chief.

SACRAMENTO -- Supporters of Proposition 37, the genetically engineered food labeling initiative, are saying that the FBI is investigating the No campaign for allegedly fraudulently using the seal of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a campaign mailer. Lawyers for the Yes campaign said they were contacted by telephone by a Sacramento-based FBI agent, identified as Jason Jones, as part of an initial fact-finding involving a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice two weeks ago. The Yes campaign's assertions immediately were knocked down by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento.

The most powerful labor organization in Los Angeles refused Friday to back away from a campaign mailer in which it urges voters to support Wendy Greuel for mayor because she "will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. " Even though Greuel has said she supports the higher "living wage" only for workers at large hotels, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor chief Maria Elena Durazo accused the media of "nitpicking" when she was questioned about the accuracy of the mailer, which went to Latino voters.

City Clerk Charles Davis on Friday warned that a campaign mailer sent out by City Councilwoman Patricia Moore may constitute mail fraud, and said he will ask the local postmaster to conduct an investigation. The mailer is emblazoned with the city seal and the words "Official City of Compton election petition enclosed."

Lawyer Michael Aguirre filed a federal lawsuit against San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy and San Diego Councilman Bob Filner on Wednesday in connection with a campaign mailer in which Duffy attacked Aguirre during his unsuccessful council race last fall. Charging that his constitutional rights were violated by Duffy's use of his law enforcement position in a political campaign, Aguirre asked the U.S.

I received a mailer entitled "Feces On The Bay" in which I was asked to remember Matlock, Watt, Ryckoff, candidates for the Newport Beach City Council. I will indeed remember them but perhaps not in the way they intended. I have long suspected their motives and their tactics and this latest mailing confirms that the three of them and their advisers have themselves sunk to an incredible low level in what I consider to be a display of a tasteless lack of class and decency. Many of the statements that they make are either untrue or exaggerated and it may be too close to the election for their opponents to effectively challenge them.

Corona Councilman Jeff Bennett filed a complaint Tuesday with the state Fair Political Practices Commission over what he called a "hit piece" campaign mailer sent to city residents by an obscure Los Angeles political organization. The glossy four-page mailer, which criticizes Bennett's ethics, arrived in residents' mailboxes last week alongside absentee ballots.

State Senate candidate Robert Oltman sued primary foe Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) for libel Tuesday, based on a campaign mailer that, he says, falsely reports his opposition to two ballot propositions that expand the use of the death penalty. The lawsuit, filed in Burbank Superior Court, also names Boland consultants Carlos Rodriguez and Dave Gilliard as defendants. Boland was unavailable for comment.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is blasting a campaign mailer sent out by an independent political action committee that listed more than a dozen dead community and religious leaders as endorsing Councilman Bernard C. Parks' reelection campaign. Ridley-Thomas, who ran against Parks for the Board of Supervisors in 2008 and has endorsed his challenger Forescee Hogan-Rowles in Tuesday's council race, said Friday that he was appalled by the literature sent to 8th Council District voters by the Los Angeles Jobs PAC, which is sponsored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

City Councilman Bernard C. Parks blasted a campaign mailer sent to voters this week by the Los Angeles Police Protective League that claimed he "took 1,000 police officers off our streets. " "What they say is absolutely a lie ? you can't physically do it ? you can't physically take 1,000 people off the street as one councilman," Parks said. The former Los Angeles Police Department chief is seeking a third and final term representing his South Los Angeles district. Parks has long had an adversarial relationship with the league, which opposed his bid for a second term as chief.

A new campaign mailer from City Councilman Jack Weiss, a city attorney candidate, sparked unusually heated criticism from several of his council colleagues Tuesday with the election just three weeks away. The brochure sent to voters early this month became the source of whispered conversations on the council floor in City Hall as colleagues passed around copies.

You have the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf and, of course, those little cable cars climbing halfway to the stars. But there is another, lesser-known distinction that San Francisco could claim (if it cared to) -- Democratic junk mail capital of the world.

Corona Councilman Jeff Bennett filed a complaint Tuesday with the state Fair Political Practices Commission over what he called a "hit piece" campaign mailer sent to city residents by an obscure Los Angeles political organization. The glossy four-page mailer, which criticizes Bennett's ethics, arrived in residents' mailboxes last week alongside absentee ballots.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered a political consultant on Thursday to try to stop the Postal Service from sending out 1.6 million illegal campaign mailers opposing Proposition 56, a measure that would make it easier for state lawmakers to pass budgets and raise taxes. Judge David P. Yaffee ruled that the mailers violated the Political Reform Act because they failed to disclose that the "No on 56" campaign had paid to put its message on them.

Anti-immigration candidates trying to take over the Sierra Club's governing board have filed a lawsuit against the national environmental organization, alleging that its leaders are breaking state law by using club money and resources to oppose them in upcoming board elections.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) on Friday denounced a campaign mailer sent by Cristi Cristich, a Republican candidate for the 70th Assembly District, that he said falsely implied his endorsement. The mailer opens with "an important message" over a photo of Cox, with the words, "Thank you, Cristi Cristich." Inside are reprinted portions of a letter Cox sent to Cristich that pledges his support if she wins the primary.