Posted 4/17/2008 10:26 PM PDT on MyDesert.com
Earlier this week, The Desert Sun and its online edition, mydesert.com, detailed the California Fair Political Practices Commission complaint against the Perez campaign for the 80th Assembly District for unfair practices during the California Democratic Party convention in San Jose. For the entire article, refer to FPPC Complaint Alleges Candidate Skirting Campaign Advertising Disclosure.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission confirmed that someone had filed a complaint against 80th Assembly District Democratic candidate Manuel Perez accusing him of failing to disclose who paid for his campaign advertising.
The complaint was filed by Greg Rodriguez, Democratic activist and candidate for the Palm Springs Unified School District, against the failed Coachella School Board trustee April 4, 2008. Seems that Rodriguez has had enough of local failed school board officials and soiled campaigns.
“It’s obvious some people want to manipulate rules and don’t want to follow them,” said Greg Rodriguez, who filed the complaint. “I think everybody needs to be scrutinized by the rules they follow.”
More below the flip…
Rodriguez is a candidate for the Palm Springs Unified School District board and a Sen. Hillary Clinton delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this summer. Pettis, a Cathedral City Councilman and former-Mayor Pro-tem, is the leading candidate and leading fundraiser of the four Democratic contenders for the 80th AD.
According to The Desert Sun,
Perez says he’s complied with the law.
“It’s one thing or another,” he said. “We’ve got more important things to do like walk the streets and talk to voters.”
Apparently one of the more important things that the Perez campaign has to do is voter intimidation in the Coachella Valley. Perez’ Campaign Director, Amalia Deaztlan, was reported to intimidate one of Pettis’ Latino supporters and endorsers at the Democrats of the Desert Annual Banquet on Saturday, April 5, 2008, harshly pinching him in a manner usually applied by Latino adults to recalcitrant children, telling him after he refused to switch his allegiance from Pettis to Perez, “You are no longer one of us!” In addition, Perez supporters have attempted to intimidate Pettis bloggers and diarists with threats and accusations.
Created with a ballot initiative in 1974, The Fair Political Practices Commission was created in a 1974 ballot initiative to investigate campaign violations of the Political Reform Act and imposes administrative penalties.
The FPPC will notify Rodriguez in writing by Friday whether the department will investigate or not, said Roman Porter, a department spokesman. Porter would not speculate on the merits of the complaint.
“One advantage of having a formal complaint signed under penalty of perjury is to reduce frivolous complaints,” he said.
State law requires disclosure on campaign advertising when advocating for or against a candidate or ballot measure.
Perez supporters created and distributed fliers advertising the Perez candidacy at the CDP convention in order to attempt to revoke the party endorsement of Pettis for the 80th AD which he obtained with over 70% of the Democratic Club votes at the Moreno Valley confab. Perez supporters created the advertisements without any FPPC-required denotations as required for the mass production of campaign materials. Perez supporters to date have not reported exactly how many fliers were created for distribution. Under FPPC regulations, mass-produced advertisements are often regulated when created in numbers of 200 or greater.
Manuel Perez, Vice-President of the failed Coachella Valley Unified School District and Candidate for the 80th Assembly District, and his campaign, have allegedly fun afoul of campaign ethics with campaign violations in two campaign scandals, according to my mydesert.com blogger source at Palm Springs Village Fest.
First, someone who volunteers for the Perez for Assembly campaign, was allegedly using her office computer to mail out campaign materials for the Perez campaign. My source is in possession of an original piece of email from the campaign worker.
Now, as anyone who has worked in an office environment in the past 15 years knows: “Do not use your office computer for personal use, otherwise your job is in jeapardy!” Well, not only did this employee apparently use her office computer to produce mass emailings for the Perez campaign, but she worked for the County of Riverside! Not only is her job in jeapardy, but she violated State of California campaign law in her endeavors. The Perez campaign has not addressed to what extent it was involve in the production and distribution of the fliers.
My source eventuall contacted Roy Wilson, Supervisor in the County of Riverside and a newsreporter at The Desert Sun, Nicole Brambila. According to my source, Wilson has conducted an investigation and found that two, count them, two Perez campaign workers and/or volunteers have been using County of Riverside computers to do campaign work for Perez. When the Perez campaign found out that its skullduggery had been found out, it cried ‘Mudslinging!’ and ‘Republican talking points!’ Seems that the Perez mouthpieces went apoplectic.
Wilson instructed County supervisor(s) to conduct an investigation and to act accordingly. In addition, thousands of County employees received emails from the County reminding them that it is against the law to use County computers, offices, etc. to conduct campaign work.
Second, the Perez campaign mass-produced and distributed campaign materials that omitted the required by law disclaimers that are required one each piece of campaign materials. Bethcaskie, blogger shill for the Perez campaign was observed handing out hundreds of the illegal fliers at the California Democratic Party convention in San Jose. Greg Rodriguez, local Democratic activist, filed a complaint with the FPPC on Monday, March 31, 2008.
Seems that the Perez campaign has in disarray without adequate leadership and direction, unable to direct and/or manage its volunteers and/or staff. An organized and well-directed campaign would not make these kind of mistakes, first not instructing their workers to not use office computers, let alone County resources, to further the campaign, and second, not vetting the campaign materials for irregularities and illegalities.
The Perez campaign response to the allegations is to label Rodriguez and other Pettis supporters as ‘mudslingers’ and adherents to ‘Republican talking points.’ Seems that the Perez campaign loves to see itself as the victim. Not a pretty sight that.
What is going on over at the Perez campaign?