Posted on 06/01/2006 6:11:08 AM PDT by Gothmog
ENCINITAS ---- Call it a case of pushing the "Send" button a moment too soon.
With less than a week left in the race for the 50th Congressional District, Democrat Francine Busby's campaign Wednesday e-mailed a notice to media outlets claiming that her Republican opponent, Brian Bilbray, had mailed a campaign letter on the Encinitas taxpayers' dime.
"Illegal use of taxpayer money by Bilbray," screamed the headline of the electronic announcement.
The misstep stems not from criticism of the letter written by Mayor Christy Guerin, but from confusion over the envelope that Busby officials and an Encinitas resident thought had contained it.
The "City of Encinitas Planning & Building Department" appeared as the return address on the envelope Bill Kohlepp of Bonita Avenue brought to Busby's campaign headquarters. He also brought Guerin's letter, which he thought had come in the envelope.
But it hadn't. The envelope, in fact, contained notices about a development proposal near Kohlepp's home.
"This was all my fault," Kohlepp said Wednesday. "I had been traveling to New York, got home and opened a ton of mail all at once. I must of attached the wrong envelope to the letter."
"I feel foolish and stupid," he said.
Within hours Wednesday, the tone struck in notices from Busby's campaign changed markedly.
"This is a deceptive and illegal misuse of taxpayer money to finance Lobbyist Bilbrayís struggling campaign," Brennan Bilberry, Busby's communications director, stated in a 1:30 p.m. notice.
And in a 3:51 p.m. e-mail from Bilberry to the press: "My personal apologies to Mr. Bilbray for this error. We certainly did not intend to spread any false information, and I am asking all media outlets to disregard the previous release on this subject."
In his e-mail, Bilberry offered to put any interested reporter in touch with Kohlepp.
Steve Dannon, Bilbray's campaign manager, defended Guerin's mailer and readily blasted his rivals.
"It's a huge blunder for their campaign," he said. "The voters deserve better."
Guerin is traveling in Japan representing Encinitas on a sister-city trip and was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Dannon said Guerin and her daughter stuffed envelopes at Bilbray's campaign office, and the envelopes they used had Guerin's home address as the return address.
The letter itself is dated May 25 and is printed beneath a header that reads, "Encinitas Mayor Christy Guerin."
At the bottom of the letter is a line that states Bilbray's campaign had paid for it. Guerin also stumped for Bilbray in a March 29 letter.
In the hotly contested race, both campaigns have now made wrong moves with e-mails.
Last month, the National Republican Congressional Committee distributed an e-mail to an undisclosed list of media recipients containing an error that was later corrected in the North County Times.
"Sister Cities" programs were started by President Ike.
It was meant as a people to people exchange for everything from student exchanges to charity to trade - it was initially started to keep government out of the international business and to promote the concept that people tht know each other tend not to go to war against each other and, Ike wanted to keep government out.
It is a very successful program in a lot of areas but over time, city government have taken it over and use it to have the tax payer pay for foreign travel for local officials as they visit there sister cities. BTW, a city can have multiple sister cities in each region of the world.
They have a website and you can google a lot of info.
In a word ... boondoggles.
It gives the city fathers on both sides of the equation a cover for trips to nice places.
The Battle of the "Bs".
It is amazing that we even heard about this. The ratmedia would have covered this up just a few years pre talk radio/internet.
Bilbray vs Busby Update-
"Francine Busby is running ads telling San Diego voters to support third party candidate William Griffith. Griffith is seen as tougher than Bilbray on immigration and has been endorsed by the "Minutemen". It's assumed Griffith will peel away Bilbray votes."
More CA -50 Updates at National Review.
http://sixers.nationalreview.com/
Plus, according to Fox's Major Garrett - Busby has admitted that she supports the Senate's plan to pay SS and income tax credits to illegals.
She's been running ads for several weeks, saying just the opposite. She's toast!!
And .. for those of you who didn't hear - it was Bilbray's campaign who TOLD McCAIN NOT TO APPEAR. Not the other way around. This does give Bilbray more conservative credit and should help him in that district.
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