Mayor Pro Tem Pamela Conley Ulich on Friday said a flyer recently mailed to Malibu residents stating she has endorsed the candidacy of Kathy Wisnicki is not accurate. She also said a quote attributed to environmental activist Kelly Meyer in an advertisement for the campaigns of Wisnicki and John Sibert appearing in this week’s issue of The Malibu Times was “neither issued nor authorized.” Meyer is one of the campaign managers for Conley Ulich.
Wisnicki responded to the accusations late Friday night with two e-mails addressed to Conley Ulich. The e-mails were also sent to the other three council candidates and The Times. She wrote she had nothing to do with the brochure and did not see the Meyer quote before it was placed in her ad.
Wisnicki did not immediately return a call from The Times Friday night.
Conley Ulich, who says she has not endorsed any of the four candidates running against her in Tuesday’s election for three seats on the council, spoke about the Wisnicki issue with The Times Friday evening and wrote about it in an e-mail sent to this newspaper and the other candidates.
“In the April 3rd edition of The Malibu Times there appears a campaign advertisement for Kathy Wisnicki which contains a misrepresentation,” Conley Ulich wrote. “The advertisement features a quote by Kelly Meyer that was neither issued nor authorized. In addition, on April 4, a campaign brochure was sent to many homes in Malibu that incorrectly lists me, in my capacity as Mayor Pro Tem, as an official supporter of Kathy Wisnicki for Malibu City Council. This brochure was published without my consent or authorization.”
The glossy flyer, which lists several prominent supporters on one side and has a picture of Wisnicki with information about her on the other side, arrived at Malibu homes on Friday. According to the return address information on the flyer, it came from a group called “Bu-ites for Wisnicki,” which used a Calabasas address.
Wisnicki wrote in one of the e-mails to Conley Ulich, “I did not authorize or pay for the mailing.”
Independent expenditures can be made to support a candidate, with no spending limit, as long as the person or group making the expenditures have no association with the candidate’s campaign. This flyer did not specify who paid for it.
A second glossy flyer was sent to Malibu homes in support of Wisnicki from “Bu-ites” this week. It did not mention any endorsements. This flyer also did not specify who paid for it.
The quote attributed to Meyer appearing in The Times’ ad states, “I trust Kathy Wisnicki to protect and preserve Malibu’s beautiful natural resources. Wisnicki is the best choice for Malibu City Council.”
Wisnicki wrote about this quote in another e-mail to Conley Ulich.
“Thank you for clarifying these errors,” Wisnicki wrote. “I did not see or approve of using Kelly’s name or quote in the times (sic) … I sincerely apologize for these errors and will correct them publicly. I am a person of integrity and I understand why you are disturbed by what has occurred.”
The campaigns of Sibert and Wisnicki paid for the newspaper ad, according to a statement in the ad.