Page 1
Former DA Cooley Warns of ‘Dirty Tricksters’
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley yesterday warned of “dirty trackers” sapping funds intended for the Recall George Gascon Committee of which he is a co-chair.
He told the METNEWS that a group called “Recall Gascón Now” (“RGN”) is collecting funds, “approaching the historic contributors” to an earlier anti-Gascón committee—which mounted an amateur effort that failed to collect enough signatures to force a recall election—as well as the current group which has professional guidance and has raised in excess of $2.5 million.
Cooley charged that RGN has raised nearly $18,000 of which $11,000 was paid—$10,000 by one contributor, $1,000 by another—under the misapprehension that money was going to the “legitimate” committee. He said the “very small rogue group of erstwhile political activists/weird balls” comprising RGN is “poaching and creating confusion.”
Tim Lineberger of Venture Strategic, a public relations group, said yesterday of RGN:
“They are rogue, gadfly activists. We are unaware of what their specific goal is given the inability of their committee to raise funds or collect signatures, and their active attempts to sabotage, undermine, and confuse the recall. They have indicated they would consider ending their duplicative and non-viable committee if we give them paid positions and/or control of resources, which leads me to believe they may be doing this for monetary gain and/or their own egos.”
Email to Contributors
An email was dispatched Wednesday to potential contributors by the Recall George Gascon Committee warning:
“There has been some confusion regarding the existence of another committee called Recall Gascon Now, which is led by Karen Roseberry and Marc Ang. Recall Gascon Now has nothing to do with the official Recall DA George Gascon Committee. We’ve learned that Recall Gascon Now has downloaded our Recall DA George Gascon Committee’s financial reports to directly solicit our donors and attempt to trick them into donating to the Recall Gascon Now committee. This is both unethical and deceitful.”
The email advises recipients: “If you mistakenly donated to Recall Gascon Now, we recommend you request a refund from their campaign treasurer, Gary Crummitt,” providing hos telephone number and email address.
It goes on to say:
“[W]e remain extremely optimistic about the upcoming signature gathering phase because we will be going into it with substantial financial resources and a massive volunteer operation that is organized and ready to hit the ground running. When we get this recall on the ballot, there is no doubt voters will remove George Gascon from office.”
Roseberry Comments
Commenting on Wednesday’s email, Roseberry said yesterday:
“This is yet another email sent that categorically misrepresents numerous facts regarding the campaign Recall Gascon Now.
“Recall Gascon Now believes it is deeply unfortunate that time, energy and resources are being expensed to attack a group that has been working to see Gascon recalled since April of 2021.
“Recall Gascon Now furthermore believes that “sunlight is the best disinfectant” and to that end has raised numerous concerns that surrounded the first-round recall effort. This included encouraging everyone to examine the public finance records for each committee on the LA County Registrar of Voters website, accessible at:
https://apps1.lavote.net/camp/committee.cfm
“To date, these concerns have not been addressed. In fact, to avoid addressing the legitimate questions of how money was spent, the lack of petitions submitted to the Registrar of Voters, messaging, strategy, and other campaign management decisions; the response has been to mudsling, cast aspersions, and sow seeds of discord and distrust. This does nothing towards accomplishing the ultimate goal of recalling Gascon.”
She continued:
“In looking at what works, a lesson from the Chesa Boudin recall would be helpful. That effort was successful in getting the recall on the ballot, and was achieved with multiple complementary committees working to accomplish the goal. That is what should be happening with the Gascon recall. Instead, one committee is attempting to exert a sole, monopolistic control of every single dollar. This same committee that refuses to take responsibility for the failed $1.4 million first effort.”
Boudin, district attorney of San Francisco, is facing a June 7 recall election.
Copyright 2022, Metropolitan News Company