Political committee mimicked Trump strategy

A statewide political action committee financed by law enforcement associations engaged in curious and controversial tactics in the 79th Assembly District race.

The PAC took a page from former President Donald Trump’s campaign playbook to help one Democratic candidate and, if not defeat another, force her into a runoff.

The move was curious because sending the disputed mailer in question had a low percentage chance of succeeding, and it didn’t. It was controversial because the imagery used was, literally, so inflammatory that the head of the San Diego County Democratic Party called it racist.

The target of the hit piece in the final days of the campaign was Dr. Akilah Weber, a La Mesa council member who had been the frontrunner from the start and won the seat outright by receiving a majority of votes in Tuesday’s special election, thereby avoiding a runoff.

Weber will fill the vacancy created after her mother, Shirley Weber, was appointed secretary of state by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The candidate backed by the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations (SAC-PAC), Leticia Munguia, finished a distant third with just over 8 percent of the vote.

The association mailer essentially suggested Weber shared the blame for, or showed indifference to, the violence and destruction that occurred in La Mesa last May following what had been a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest.

The flyer includes a photograph of a smiling Weber superimposed on images of burning buildings, presumably the ones set on fire in her city.

“Chaos in La Mesa!” “Peaceful protest turns violent,” says the piece, attributing those words to the La Mesa Courier.

Then below Weber’s picture it says, “Akilah Weber didn’t support our local businesses when they needed her most.”

Yet, the Voice of San Diego pointed out Weber joined other council members in declaring a curfew

on the night of the unrest and later supported a request to bring the National Guard into La Mesa to assist with security.

La Mesa police received criticism both for not being prepared for the violence and for being too aggressive with protesters. A 59-yearold woman at the protest was partially blinded after she was hit in the head with a beanbag round shot by an officer, who was not charged in the incident.

The theme of the law enforcement association mailer is similar to, if more subtle than, television ads in certain states last summer by the Trump presidential campaign that attempted to link Joe Biden to the violence during some social justice protests around the country.

One ad, with images of buildings burning and people breaking windows, said “violent crime has exploded.” Across the images were the words “You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America.”

Will Rodriguez-kennedy, chair of San Diego County Democratic Party, said the turmoil in La Mesa was a reaction to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the disputed arrest of Amaurie Johnson by a La Mesa police officer. (Charges against Johnson were dropped and the officer, Matthew Dages, was fired and charged with filing a false arrest report.)

Rodriguez-kennedy also pointed out that the mailer attacking Weber was sent to voters during the early stages of the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer accused of killing Floyd.

“To lay a ‘riot’, especially considering that the conditions for unrest were set by Police use of force policies & the disproportionate treatment and killings of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) ... throughout the country, at the feet of the sole Black council member in La Mesa is a racist act,” Rodriguezkennedy said on Facebook the day before the election.

He added that the mailer “is objectively racist and is done by organizations that support a Democratic Candidate in this race.”

An attorney listed on state documents as treasurer of the political action committee did not return a voice message seeking comment.

In his post, Rodriguezkennedy called on Munguia to condemn the ad. “I truly believe that it does not live up to her values,” he said.

She issued no statement about the mailer prior to the election, but on her campaign website Wednesday she thanked her supporters and congratulated Weber.

Candidates do not control the messages of independent campaigns such as the one by the law enforcement coalition and, by law, cannot coordinate with them. Occasionally, candidates do attempt to distance themselves from independent PACS supporting them if a committee’s tactics seem out of bounds or, more often, could reflect poorly on the candidate.

Political focus on law enforcement practices has grown in recent years, particularly regarding police use of force against people of color. The trouble following the protest in La Mesa perhaps put even more of a spotlight on police policy in the 79th District, which includes communities in southeastern San Diego, Bonita, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove and National City.

Both Weber and Munguia called for changes in law enforcement and better tracking of officer misconduct. Weber, like her mother, supported even stronger approaches to policing the police. It is no surprise that Shirley Weber wasn’t a favorite of law enforcement groups, either.

“We need to make sure that there is a process of decertification,” Akilah Weber said, according to Deborah Sullivan Brennan of The San Diego Uniontribune. Weber noted that doctors, teachers and other professionals hold licenses that can be revoked if they fail to follow professional standards.

“When you look at what I call rogue officers, they oftentimes have a pattern of this behavior and they can oftentimes go from police department to police department,” she said.

Unlike Munguia, Weber during the campaign said she would not accept support from law enforcement groups, though said she is committed to working with police on reforms.

Weber was among five candidates in the race, four Democrats and one Republican. She was expected to win and did.

An ugly mailer won’t derail what may be an emerging Weber political dynasty.

Tweet of the week

Goes to Time magazine (@TIME), quoting an essay by national correspondent Charlotte Alter.

“America may now be coming out of a period of collective hibernation, clawing its way back into the sun after one of the longest, darkest winters anybody can remember ...”