ANDERSON GOES ON ATTACK IN MAILERS TO SMEAR OPPONENTS

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By Miriam Raftery
 
February 24, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Negative and in some cases, deceptive mailers paid for by Joel Anderson For Supervisor 2020 have landed in voters’ mailboxes. One targets his opponent, Steve Vaus, claiming Vaus is “funded by never Trumpers” and displaying photos of liberals Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Anderson, in other mailings, touts his own loyalty to Trump.
 
Another mailer for Anderson lists Vaus’ occupation as “career politician.” It fails to mention that Anderson served in the state Assembly, state Senate, and Padre Dam Municipal Water District board -with more years as a “career politician” than Vaus.
 
However Vaus is also a Republican running on a record of fiscal conservatism. He visited President Donald Trump in the White House last year after the Chabad of Poway synagogue and greeted Trump when the President visited San Diego recently, presenting the president with a city of Poway medal—hardly “never Trumper” actions.  Vaus’ endorsement page includes many prominent Republicans including all three Republican supervisors (Jim Desmond, Dianne Jacob and Kristine Gaspar), El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells, Sheriff Bill Gore, and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
 
Other Anderson mailers slam candidate Kenya Taylor for being a Democrat and for being endorsed by San Diego Democrats for Equality. Though these are true statements, posts on social media have blasted Anderson as bigoted for criticizing a candidate’s support of equal rights. The endorsement in question is one of many for Taylor, who is also endorsed by environmental and women’s groups, healthcare workers, and political leaders including State Controller Betty Yee, the state’s top financial officer.
 
Anderson has also been the target of negative ads, including an online ad that truthfully states Anderson had to return $100,000 in campaign contributions "funneled" into his campaign. That ad is funded by a public safety PAC that has endorsed Vaus. The donations returned by Anderson were over the legal limit for  maximum donations including money from Sempra Energy, a Native American tribe and members of the Hamann Construction family of developers and had been funneled through a Republican Central Committee that in turn put the money into Anderson’s campaign coffers. The Fair Political Practices Commission levied $20,000 in fines against Anderson back in 2009. Anderson did not admit guilt and has said he will not discuss the old campaign finance matters in his 2020 campaign.
 
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