With Tuesday’s City Council election just around the corner, candidate Kathy Wisnicki has forced the resignation of her campaign consultant Evelyn Jerome and issued a formal public apology for what she called “several unfortunate events [that] have unfolded in the past few days.” All those directly involved say they accept the candidate’s apology.
The controversy began on Thursday when an advertisement appeared in The Malibu Times for Wisnicki and John Sibert. The ad, funded by the candidates’ campaigns, contained quotes in support of Wisnicki attributed to Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families founder Laure Stern and environmental activist Kelly Meyer. Candidate Pamela Conley Ulich, whose campaign manager is Meyer, said on Friday Meyer’s quote was “neither issued nor authorized.” Stern said on Sunday her quote was approved. But she said she was bothered because she made the statement as an individual, and she is noted in the ad as the president of the Malibu Foundation. Also, she is not the president, her husband Daniel is. The quote from Stern also appeared in a mailer sent out by Wisnicki’s campaign on Saturday, and again states her as the president of the Malibu Foundation.
Wisnicki blamed the printing of the Stern and Meyer quotes on her campaign consultant, who she said put them on without contacting her. Wisnicki said she asked for and received the resignation of Jerome, who works for SJA Strategies, a Los Angeles-based public relations firm. Wisnicki detailed her explanation in a press release issued on Sunday.*
Laure Stern and Meyer on Sunday said they accepted Wisnicki’s apology contained in the press release, and supported all the statements included. Daniel Stern also submitted a letter to this newspaper clarifying the Malibu Foundation’s neutral position in the election.**
Also in her press release, Wisnicki said she had nothing to do with at least three flyers mailed to Malibu homes Friday and Saturday from a group calling itself “Bu-ites for Wisnicki.” The group’s flyers state, among other things, that Conley Ulich has endorsed Wisnicki. Conley Ulich, who is not formally supporting any candidates except herself, told The Times on Friday the flyers were incorrect. She also wrote about it in an e-mail she sent to the other candidates, including Wisnicki.
Independent expenditures can be made to support a candidate, with no spending limit, if the person or group making the expenditures have no association with the candidate’s campaign. The Bu-ites’ flyers do not state who paid for them.
The flyers list a Calabasas home owned by Malibu Realtor Scott Cameron as the return address. Cameron, whose name does not appear on any of the flyers, said on Sunday he had no knowledge of the flyers. He said he had rented out the home at the beginning of this month.
Cameron’s father, Malibu Realtor Paul Grisanti, said on Sunday he supports Wisnicki’s candidacy, but he also did not know about the flyer. Grisanti, whose permanent residence was destroyed in the Corral Fire, had been living at the Calabasas home since late November. Grisanti said he moved out before the end of March.
The home is being rented by Pax Prentiss, the co-founder of the rehab center Passages Malibu. Prentiss said on Sunday he had nothing to do with the flyers, and was only vaguely familiar with the candidates involved in the election. He said he has been living in Cameron’s Calabasas home for “a few days.”
To read the initial story on the Wisnicki campaign advertising issue, go here: http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2008/04/05/breaking_news/newsflash.txt
*Below is the full version of the press release issued by Wisnicki. Laure Stern and Meyer told The Times on Sunday they support the information about them contained in the press release:
Several unfortunate events have unfolded in the past few days which have caused a few respected members of our community to feel compromised. I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight and publicly apologize to Laure Stern, Kelly Meyer, Pamela Conley Ulich and the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families. As a result of these errors, I have asked for and received the resignation of my campaign consultant. The continued trust of these respected women, as well as all Malibu residents who support the Malibu Foundation, is deeply important to me.
In last week’s issue of The Malibu Times, my campaign co-sponsored a joint advertisement for myself and John Sibert, and featured a quote from Laure Stern, who was listed as the president of the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families. Laure, who is a founder and board member but not the president, has an impeccable reputation in this community, built on her activism, inventiveness, achievements, and dedication. Having her endorsement is a much sought-after seal of approval, which she is free to give or not give as a private citizen. However, Laure is not the current president of the Foundation, and gave me her personal endorsement. The ad may give the misleading implication that The Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families had endorsed candidates, which it does not. The Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families is a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization which has earned the support of citizens of Malibu from across the entire political spectrum. The Foundation does not and will not support any political candidates.
Second, I did not see or approve of using Kelly Meyer’s quote and Kelly never authorized the use of a quote for my campaign. In fact, Ms. Meyer, a respected environmental activist, has personally supported my campaign, but never authorized me to use anything other than her name. Unfortunately, my campaign consultant moved forward with the advertisement without confirming that the quote was approved.
Finally, I have never indicated to anyone that current Mayor Pro-Tem, Pamela Ulich has endorsed my campaign. In fact, I told the Malibu Times specifically that she had not endorsed me. Several pieces of mail were sent from an Independent Expenditure Campaign called “Bu-ites for Wisnicki.” By law, independent expenditure campaigns are allowed to send their own material to voters, as long as they disclose who is paying for the material, and as long as they do not coordinate with the candidate whom their material supports. I do not know anyone who is part of this committee, and my campaign has not coordinated with this group nor seen their mailings before they hit mailboxes last week. I hope Ms. Ulich understands that I have never, and my campaign has never, misrepresented her position in this election.
I appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight prior to the election, and I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of Malibu residents.
**Below is the letter submitted on Sunday to The Times from Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families President Daniel Stern:
To the Editor,
As the President of the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families, I appreciate Kathy Wisnicki’s letter clarifying any misleading implications from her political advertisement in your newspaper that The Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families was in any way endorsing her candidacy. We are a non-profit, apolitical organization. Our supporters are citizens of Malibu from across the entire political spectrum and as an organization we don’t, and by law can’t, support any political candidates. We support an agenda. Our agenda is to look out for the best interests of the citizens of Malibu by providing after-school programming, drug prevention programs, environmental education, bi-lingual counseling, as well as our newest endeavor of bringing a brand new community center to mid-Malibu that will be a place to serve the entire community, from senior citizens to seniors in high school. We will continue being very involved with whoever is serving on our city council, not only lobbying them for grants for our current programs, but lobbying them to include space for a community center if any new commercial expansion in Malibu is approved. The Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families looks forward to working with whichever candidates win this week’s elections, but we endorse none of them.
Daniel Stern
President
Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families