Blog: The Smear Campaign Against Jimmy Gomez

We are just 8 days away from the November 6 election and like you I am getting hammered by campaign mail and calls. Usually candidates send you mailers to inform you, the voters, about what they plan to accomplish if you vote for them. Jimmy Gomez has been doing just that and that is why he earned my family's vote. However, his opponent decided it was a good idea to photo-shop a picture of Jimmy for one of his mailers and send them to voters hoping we wouldn't fact-check his very nasty mailer. Well we did and so did other voters and I wrote about it here.

Well since then, voters have reacted with disgust at what seems to be the smear campaign against Jimmy by the Luis Lopez campaign. Sandra Figueroa-Villa, Executive Director of El Centro Del Pueblo* and a former Arturo Chavez supporter was just as upset as I was and had this to say:

I wholeheartedly endorse Jimmy Gomez. Every day, I deal with the realities of gun violence and it is not an issue to be taken lightly. We need leaders in Sacramento that will keep guns off the street. I am confident Jimmy Gomez will be our champion, ...

However, today was the most important day to bring to light Luis Lopez' lies about Jimmy Gomez. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities. The California Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence released the following statement from their President, Dan Gross:

Gun violence is a matter of life and death and it should not be cheapened by underhanded political tactics. The accusations by Luis Lopez against Jimmy Gomez about his ties to the NRA are ridiculous and misleading.  If elected, Jimmy Gomez will stand up for victims of gun violence and he will support strong gun laws to reduce gun deaths and injuries in California.

You may say that I have a favorable point of view because I strongly support Jimmy Gomez and that is a fair comment. However, this morning the CA National Organization for Women who endorsed Luis Lopez for Assembly has entered the fray calling Luis Lopez' mailings "inaccurate" and their President had this to say:

“California NOW is proud of the fact that our endorsement is viewed by women in this state as the “Seal of Approval” for a candidate or an issue. We do not take that responsibility lightly. In fact, we work every single day to ensure that our logo is used only in an honest manner when it comes to educating and informing women on issues and candidates we support. That is why I was personally disappointed to learn that a candidate our PAC endorsed (Luis Lopez) chose to send out a misleading mailer that included our logo. Although the mailer did not quote NOW with the inaccurate statements portrayed on the piece, the use of our logo clearly implies that we signed off on the mailer – which we did not. I contacted the campaign to express my dissatisfaction and instructed them to remove our logo from future mailings.” -Patty Bellasalma, President, CA NOW

I worked with Patty to help elect great leaders like Assemblymember Holly J. Mitchell, (who has endorsed Jimmy Gomez) who embody the true meaning of being a progressive candidate. Luis Lopez has yet to tell this District what his plan to bring jobs to this District and all we have heard from him and his cohorts is "I'm the Homegrown candidate." Well my friend's grandmother has lived in this District for 35+ years but does that automatically entitle you to an Assembly District? This district cares about which candidate is going to bring good paying jobs, fund our public schools and who is going to stand up to special interests.

Jimmy Gomez is the only candidate with a plan to bring jobs to our District and just today I received a mailer from him! Here is his plan:

• Jimmy will invest in our infrastructure. Our schools, roads and other infrastructures are crumbling - and making it more difficult for California to bounce back from the economic crisis. We need to rebuild our state, and create good-paying jobs in the process.
• Restore funding to our schools. Our schools have taken the brunt of over $20 billion in state budget cuts over the years. Our schools and colleges are job creators. Jimmy will fight to restore funding to our schools, universities and community colleges.
• Close the loopholes that encourage businesses to ship jobs out of California. Our tax code is riddled with special interest loopholes that lose California jobs and let the wealthy and corporations duck paying their fair share. Jimmy will stand up to these special interests and slam those loopholes shut, generating revenue and bringing jobs to AD 51.

Instead of joining a negative campaign and dressing up in silly costumes when Halloween has not even arrived yet - why not join the Gomez campaign? Jimmy wants to get California working again with his plan to bring jobs to this District. I hope you can join me and my family in voting for an experienced leader who will be ready on Day 1 to get the resources this District so desperately needs.