Recently, one candidate running for re-election (seeking the District 5 City Council seat) was caught using the City of Newport Beach’s official logo in his online campaign materials. Only after this inappropriate conduct was brought to the attention of the Newport Beach City attorney did this rogue candidate remove the official City logo from his online campaign materials.
Ironically the candidate had the following quote appear over the City’s proprietary seal: “solid character will reflect in consistent behavior, while poor character will seek to hide behind deceptive words and actions.”
This same candidate was spotted by Island residents pulling up and removing an opponent’s political sign near the Balboa Island Bridge. This misconduct is usually outsourced to high-school students who are paid by the hour and frankly don’t know any better. Truth be told, it’s actually a serious offense to remove political signs — unless of course you are hired by the City to clean up the many signs found in medians and other green-spaces around our villages during election season.
And most recently (despite prior warnings from the FPPC and the City) admonishing this candidate not to use City resources when campaigning for office, a recent public records request shows this candidate seeking to engage in the “dark-arts” practice known as “ballot harvesting.”
For those not familiar with the topic, while it may be October (Harvest Season), harvesting ballots is considered a big “no no,” especially by candidates running for election.
This practice is generally frowned upon and viewed as highly questionable because it involves outreach to voters who for whatever reason are unable to get to the polls, are undecided about how they intend to vote, or simply have not made it to the ballot box yet. Offering voters assistance in completing and returning their ballots carries with it a host of obvious risks and concerns which only further erodes our faith in the democratic process.
Again, this would normally be something farmed out to the young and uninformed. But come to find a sitting council member seeking re-election, attempting to engage in this practice, using his official City e-mail address no less, well that is just down-right scary, even during Halloween!!
For those unsure what to make of these rather questionable practices during election season, I will say: If you can’t trust a sitting council member to play by the rules, then he really should not be re-elected on that basis alone; never mind his poor record on airport noise (general aviation expansion), short-term lodging, boardwalk closures, the homeless, dueling merchant associations in his backyard, and a cozy relationship with developers whose sights seem set on redeveloping Marine Ave. and building McMansions in our quaint villages.
For further information and associated documents of these infractions, go to Press Releases at www.noah2020.com.
That is why I will be voting for Noah this Fall.
Jim Moloney / Balboa Island
The post Letter to the Editor: Questionable and Scary Election Practices appeared first on Newport Beach News.
Source: Newport Beach Independent
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