I would like to respond to the Community Column authored by City Council candidate and local activist Mary Rose Kaczorowski published in the September 22, 2022 Advocate, which is pasted below for context. In her column, she discussed the local controversy involving the City Council election involving the City Clerk, who is Fort Bragg’s elections official, and incumbent councilmembers Tess-Albin Smith and Lindy Peters, both of whom are running for new terms.
Ms. Kaczorowski characterizes Tess Albin-Smith having to run as a write-in candidate as “unintentional confusion about election regulations” and she asserts that “Not wanting to run against an incumbent is not an intent of wrongdoing.” I disagree. In my opinion, the actions of these officials amounted to actual wrongdoing even if they did not understand that at the time. Most of us are familiar with the adage and legal principle that ignorance of the law is no defense, which is relevant to this situation because the actions involved were all intentional even if they did not necessarily intend to violate the Elections Code. However, knowingly submitting altered nomination papers that include false content is a crime under California Elections Code §§ 18201 and 18203, which read:
18201. “Any person who falsely makes or fraudulently defaces or destroys all or any part of a nomination paper, is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years or by both that fine and imprisonment.”
18203. “Any person who files or submits for filing a nomination paper or declaration of candidacy knowing that it or any part of it has been made falsely is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months or two or three years or by both that fine and imprisonment.”
Ms. Kaczorowski and the eight other City Council candidates besides Tess Albin-Smith and Lindy Peters made their choices about which seats to run for in compliance with the applicable rules and procedures set out in the Elections Code. But instead of doing so through correct and legal means, these two incumbents participated in a scheme to simply used the same nomination paper the City Clerk issued to them for their original intended races and alter it by hand to try to run for the other race so they wouldn’t have to run against each other for the single two-year seat.
Part of these nomination papers is an affidavit whereby the nominee certifies, under penalty of perjury, that they have been nominated for the particular city council seat identified on the nomination paper. The voters also sign the papers specifically nominating the person seeking public office to the seat that is listed on the nomination paper, which the Elections Code requires to have been typed in by the elections official when they issued the papers to the candidates. Both Ms. Albin-Smith and Mr. Peters signed this certification when they returned their nomination papers but they switched the races to try to avoid running against each other. Both candidates could have collected nominating signatures on the correct nomination paper but chose not to do so. This apparent wrongdoing should not be brushed under the rug as a mere technicality. We are supposed to be able to have free and fair elections but that doesn’t include local officials manipulating the nomination process and obtaining an unfair advantage compared to the other candidates who followed the rules.
— Jacob Patterson, Fort Bragg
* * *
Judy Valadao Comments:
Wouldn’t Tess running as a write in be the same as if she didn’t put her name in at all and then changed her mind and decided to run as a write in?
Other questions being asked is why one candidate assumed the Council is in charge of the PD etcetera, etcetera. I don’t believe that is the case at this moment.
* * *
Fort Bragg Councilman Will Lee Comments:
The above by Jacob Patterson is just another of his sustained attacks of the City Clerk of Fort Bragg. This unemployed attorney continues his bullying and harassment of City employees and City Council members. He is the same person that filed a frivolous legal claim against the City that settled for $20 k of the taxpayers money. An ongoing vendetta against the City for not hiring him as City Attorney.
Plus his Mom is running for City Council-Michelle Roberts. Maybe if she wins a seat he could then be hired at City Hall and guide the City into the perfect metropolis they envision.
Be First to Comment