What’s funny is that the ad, I assume it’s the ad, pops up on the article itself. Unfortunately, I’ve used up all of my free articles for the month so I can’t read it.
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11 comments
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February 18, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Anonymous
On Thursday, the Rusty Hicks campaign for California’s District 2 state Assembly seat sent a cease-and-desist letter to TV stations airing an attack ad against him that he said was “patently false.”
The ad, which can be viewed at neighborsagainstrustyhicks.com, pulls quotes from a Sacramento Bee Editorial Board article criticizing Hicks for declining to release the investigative report into his predecessor, California Democratic Party Chair Eric Bauman, who resigned after sexual misconduct allegations. The Hicks campaign alleges the ad is defamatory and the cease-and-desist letter threatened legal action if the stations do not take it off the air.
“The advertisement falsely claims that ‘as Chair of the California Democratic Party, Rusty Hicks covered up a major sexual abuse scandal’ and ‘shield(ed) the guilty(.)’ These statements are absolutely false and a gross mischaracterization of Mr. Hicks’ actions because they suggest that, as Chair of the California Democratic Party (CDP), he attempted to conceal illegal or illicit activities,” the cease-and-desist letter said.
Hicks initially decided to keep the investigation report into his predecessor private, posting “the further dissemination of this report will do further damage to the victims who were harmed and the witnesses who came forward,” on Twitter, now X. However, after the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board ran their piece criticizing the move, Hicks released parts of the report.
The cease-and-desist letter was sent to Jenny Olszewski, the general manager of Redwood News. Olszewski and John Fish, Imagicomm’s regional sales manager, were included in the letter. Neither responded to a request for comment by the Times-Standard’s print deadline.
The ad, created by a political action committee — North Coast Neighbors Supporting Ariel Kelley and Opposing Rusty Hicks for Assembly 2024 — was largely funded by Kelley’s sister, Shoshana Ungerleider, developer Bill Gallaher and Chris Hansen, a hedge fund manager.
February 18, 2024 at 6:32 pm
Anonymous
Ungerleider and Hansen did not return a request for comment by the Times-Standard’s print deadline.
Responding to the ad in a press release, Hicks issued a counterattack on Kelley’s campaign.
“Sadly, it is becoming clear that Councilmember Kelley can’t run on her own record. So, she and her supporters — her sister, a highly controversial developer, and oil investors — have decided to lie about mine by funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in dark money through an Orange County PAC. And in the process, they’ve chosen to potentially re-victimize individuals who have sought to move forward with their lives and attack our party too — all in hopes of scoring a political point or two,” Hicks said in the release.
By referring to oil investors, Hicks is referencing Hansen, who through his company Valiant Capital, has roughly $35 million invested in Schlumberger which, as of 2022, was the world’s largest offshore oil drilling company. Kelley said she has no investments in oil or natural gas.
While Kelley herself had nothing to do with the ad — candidates are barred from interacting with PACs lobbying on their behalf — she took issue with Hicks’ counterattack against her campaign.
“If the evidence in the ad is correct, it feels incredibly damning. Sexual abuse should be taken seriously. Always. Trying to shift and attack me without addressing the abuse scandal and committing to creating a culture of safety within our party is problematic,” Kelley said via email.
While the Hicks campaign argued the ad lied about his record regarding the sexual misconduct investigation, they did not argue about the other attack angle: that Hicks is a fairly recent Los Angeles transplant to Arcata, having moved within the past few years. Previous attack ads featured Hicks photoshopped into a Dodger’s cap and holding a sign reading “I heart LA.”
If Hicks sues TV stations for airing the ad, he could face an uphill battle: proving libel to a clear and convincing evidentiary standard, while not impossible, is extraordinarily difficult, especially for public figures said David Loy, director of the First Amendment Coalition, a free-speech oriented nonprofit.
One of the ads against Rusty Hicks by a PAC supporting Ariel Kelley. (Screenshot)
One of the ads against Rusty Hicks by a PAC supporting Ariel Kelley. (Screenshot)
“If it’s an undisputed fact that he delayed the release of this report, or refused to release it, you know, that’s one person’s cover-up, that’s another person’s careful, thought-out respect for the process,” Loy said.
To prove defamation, Hicks’ lawyers would have to show that the ad clearly asserted a false fact with knowledge of its falsity and showed reckless disregard for the truth.
“If you say just generally, ‘My opponent John Doe is a crook because he takes money from developers and votes for their projects,’ courts are generally inclined to view (the speech) as simply colorful rhetoric,” Loy said.
The victor of the March primary for the Democrats will likely face off against Michael Greer, Del Norte Unified School District trustee and sole Republican running for the seat, this November. Yurok Tribe Vice Chair Frankie Myers, Santa Rosa Councilmember Chris Rogers and Mendocino County’s 5th District supervisor Ted Williams are also vying for the seat.
February 19, 2024 at 12:15 am
Anonymous
The campaign was kind of sleepy up until now!
February 19, 2024 at 8:56 am
John
Dirty politics is the way many campaigns are run these days.
Not fun when you are the target of the smears & half truths.
February 19, 2024 at 9:49 am
Just Watchin
democrats have been doing this for years. Look closely…..several marchers are dark skinned…….
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nashville-neo-nazi-march-sparks-conspiracy-theories/ar-BB1ivT2k?ocid=msedgntp&pc=DCTS&cvid=5d3b536bc46a48f289ea7aa6d94d3bde&ei=83#
February 19, 2024 at 11:46 am
Henchman Of Justice
JW,
people forget quickly that USA is a land of opportunity…where a KKK group can march by an African, and everyone goes on their separate ways… no harm, no foul… free speech… like BLM does often…
… seems appropriately fair that BLM and the KKK are equals in free speech, as it ought to be…
February 19, 2024 at 1:50 pm
Eric Kirk
JW – You seriously believe that “the Democrats” staged a neo-Nazi march to make Republicans look bad? Or did you post that as a joke? Please tell me it was the latter!
February 19, 2024 at 2:24 pm
Just Watchin
vang….you know any dark skinned neo-nazis ? democrats just figure that if you don’t recognize it, then it doesn’t happen. Example……
https://www.businessinsider.com/lincoln-project-sends-fake-white-supremacists-to-virginia-gop-event-2021-10
February 19, 2024 at 2:41 pm
Eric Kirk
Enrique Tario for one.
Here are others.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-young-men-of-color-are-joining-white-supremacist-groups
I mean seriously, if it was staged, would they include dark skinned participants?
February 19, 2024 at 2:44 pm
Eric Kirk
There are Nazi groups in Latin America – not all white.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalist_Front_of_Mexico
February 19, 2024 at 2:47 pm
Eric Kirk
Just read the article JW linked and my God, the right wingers are accusing Pearson and Jones of staging it! Have right wingers lost all sense of irony?