Wed 19 Mar 2008
Local activist sets his sights on Ferry mailer supporting Laurie Ender
Posted by admin under City of Santa Clarita , Local , Politics [3] CommentsIn the latest volley in SCV partisan politics leading up to the Santa Clarita City Council elections, local activist David Gauny of Smart Growth SCV has entered the fray with a press release going after Frank Ferry for a mailer supporting Laurie Ender. In this most recent drama gripping SCV, Mr. Gauny is accusing Mr. Ferry of violating California State Law.
In a statement released by Mr. Gauny on Wednesday he says, “Frank Ferry recently mailed out a flier on behalf of a city council candidate. In doing so, he committed a significant violation of California State Law in his effort to elect his friend and City Parks Commissioner, Laurie Ender.â€
Gauny goes on to say, “The following facts and legal statements are provided for you and these statements can and will be verified by the Santa Clarita City Clerk and the State of California Fair Political Practices Commission. They are as follows:
- Frank Ferry apparently covered costs of a flier in support of Laurie Ender. The flier names the “Frank Ferry Committee” as the funding source for the ad using the identical committee number Frank has used for the last four years to elect himself. Committee IDs are legally required on such campaign fliers to identify the source of funding.Â
- ILLEGAL EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS. According to State Law (California Government Code 85501), a candidate controlled committee may not make “independent expenditures” for or against another candidate.
On a side note, it is ironic that the flier is called the “Congressman Buck McKeon Voter Guide†and has no mention of Frank Ferry other than his committee as the funding source. This leaves the public to wonder why Councilman Ferry is paying for Buck’s recommendations and why Buck would allow this to take place.â€
Is Mr. Gauny an expert on California State Law? Or is he espousing his interpretation of California State Law?
Some local novices are making serious statements that may or may not be true. If in fact this is in violation of State Law than it should be sent to the California Fair Political Practices Committee for review and if they do find a breach in the law than the appropriate action should be taken. That would be a better way of handling this matter than making claims that might not be true.
Mr. Gauny also claims that Ferry’s flyer, “combined with other misleading fliers from the Ender campaign, it certainly feels like there is an effort to control the vote for this candidate and this election.â€
That would be true of all political flyers. Political advertisements are designed to convince the voter to support the candidate that is featured positively on the mailers. Just as all of the press releases being sent out recently are designed to sway voters against those that the activists are attacking.
The political saga continues as the World Turns in SCV.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Dave,
Not sure where your sarcasm comes from – or where the rest of my email went that suggests that media outlets responsibly research this. A complaint has already been filed with FPPC by someone else.
As for partisan politics: I am a registered Republican and have been all my life. As such, I will proudly state that fellow Republicans like Frank Ferry who use the dais to lobby for candidates and use their own campaign monies to finance someon else are an absolute embarrassment to me and my party.
How much more so when, contrary to her flier statements, Laurie Ender has NEVER been involved with the core anti-Cemex effort and can answer a single direct question on the hospital expansion. She accuses others of “playing politics” when she is doing this in the worst way.
Her flier states that SCV “deserves a hospital with an NICU, improved maternity center, cardiac and cancer “Centers of Excellence” and other improvements outlined in the revised MAster Plan.”
Really Laurie? Where? The contract commits a mere 12K sqft of office space to this OR “other hospital related uses”… Yes, that’s 6% of the proposed space. Nothing is outlined, merely suggested. That’s the problem with the plan, with Laurie, and with SCV’s planning in general.
I’m not an expert in California law. Anybody who choses to take a moment and refuse braindead cheerleader approvals can see the problem here. Thanks, Dave.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Correction: meant to say that Laurie “CANNOT” answer a direct question about hospital expansion. A simple “YES” to expansion without ensuring adequate parking or critical services is not leadership on this or any other issue. It’s another Frank Ferry who’s just tired of hearing the public he/she represents.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
David,
It was a press release sent out via email. Regardless of you party registration all the “press releases†flying around in recent weeks smacks of partisan politics. I would curious to know which candidates you are supporting for City Council
I appreciate you answering the question, “Is Mr. Gauny an expert on California State Law?†My belief is that your interpretation of the law may or may not be correct. I say that not out of disrespect but out the fact that you are not expert on California Law and neither am I.
That is why I believe these possible campaign violation should be handled by the California Political Fair Practices Commission. If, as you have stated, the complaint has been filed than I would like to see that process proceed in a timely fashion so that the experts can rule on whether or not there have been any violations.
Thank you,
-Dave