Cortes
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/11/2010 03:57:23 PM PDT
GRAND TERRACE – Bea Cortes’ campaign consultant is considering legal action against the citizen who anonymously posted signs accusing Cortes of stifling free speech.
“We have nothing against free speech, but we will challenge putting out anonymous fliers that include false information,” said Chris Jones, who works on Cortes’ campaign for City Council and with other local candidates.
Debra Hurst said she spent about $2,400 to send fliers to each of the roughly 4,200 homes in Grand Terrace and order 250 signs because she wanted to warn people of Cortes’ history.
Hurst said she was not aware that she was legally required to include her name and officially file before distributing the materials.
“I’m not in the political field,” she said. “I volunteer at different places and I’m a grandma. … I just want people to be informed before they vote.”
The fliers quote several newspapers and blogs criticizing Cortes and include a claim that Cortes is under investigation for payments made to Terra Loma Real Estate.
The district attorney’s office stopped the investigation – which Hurst helped initiate – Sept. 24, but Hurst said she mailed the fliers before she heard charges were dropped.
Hurst supported her free speech complaint with a story from The Sun about Cortes’ push for a restraining order against resident Kay Moore, which would have stopped Moore from attending City Council meetings.
To read entire story, click here.
Hurst, stick to “grandma” things or suffer the consequences of the real world where people don’t hide behind the pathetic “grandma defense”. You can’t go around lying about people and defaming them then claim you don’t know anything. Really, you would be better sticking to Grandma things.
Mr. Jones, aka “Planner”, nice try.
Is it just me or does she look like a squirrel?
outsider: It’s just you. No, actually she does resemble some sort of strange creature; not exactly sure what that would be. Her lips look bee-stung though. Ah, the wonders of botox and filler!
Speculating on my identify is a fools errand. I am pretty much nobody anybody would know, certainly not a Mr.Jones. And while I do not care particularly about Grand Terrace and any of the candidates, I do not like the hypocrisy of claiming to be just a “grandma” after stirring up the pot.
@Planner: “or suffer the consequences”
Is this a threat to Hurst? Sounds threatening to me.
If I were you, I’d take more care in the choice of your words in these forums lest you get a knock on your door in the middle of the night.
The blog writer identifies the possibility of legal action for “anonymous fliers that include false information”. That is “the consequences of the real world” that I referred to. In short if Hurst wants to include her thoughts on the candidate, she better know what she is talking about or then she can’t use the “Grandma” defense. I am not defending Jones (I do not know much of him) but I just find it somewhat hypocritical to feel that one has free reign to say whatever they want in the political arena just because they are elderly and have grandchildren. You simply cannot go around saying anything you wish just because someone is running for office. You better be prepared with facts.
@Planner:
Blah, blah, blah. Nobody cares about this.