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Court of Appeal:
Anti-SLAPP Motion Filed by Woman Who Lied in Election Papers Properly Denied
By a MetNews Staff Writer
An action by a county clerk/registrar of voters to bar a woman from seeking an office after she filed a declaration of candidacy saying she had never been convicted of a felony involving the theft of public money when, in fact, she had, is not a SLAPP.
Justice Shama Hakim Mesiwala authored the opinion, filed Monday and not certified for publication. It affirms an order by Siskiyou Superior Court Judge Thomas Linville denying the anti-SLAPP motion filed by Kimberly Olson who wanted to run in 2020 for the office of director of the Hornbrook Community Services District. County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Laura Bynum initially accepted Olson’s papers, but, upon learning that she had been convicted of theft of public money and two other felonies brought a writ proceeding to bar her from the ballot.
Elections Code §20 provides, in part:
“A person shall not be considered a candidate for, and is not eligible to be elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has been convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes.”
First Prong
Agreeing with Linville, Mesiwala said Olson does not come under the first prong of the Olson’s anti-SLAPP statute, Code of Civil Procedure §425.16, because the writ action did not stem from protected speech. Mesiwala quoted the California Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Flatley v. Mauro as saying that §425.16 “cannot be invoked by a defendant whose assertedly protected activity is illegal as a matter of law and, for that reason, not protected by constitutional guarantees of free speech and petition.”
The justice wrote:
“Elections Code section 18203 makes it unlawful to file or submit a nomination paper or declaration of candidacy knowing that any part of it has been made falsely and makes a violation of its provisions a crime. Bynum offered the following evidence in support of her opposition to the anti-SLAPP motion: (1) Olson’s declaration of] candidacy from 2019 in which Olson affirmed by signature that she had “not been convicted of a felony involving...theft of public money” and (2) verdicts out of Placer County Superior Court from January 13, 2000, finding Olson guilty of public benefits fraud and finding true the special allegation that Olson took funds and property of a value exceeding $50,000.”
Knowing Violation
Mesiwala found unpersuasive Olson’s contention that there was no evidence showing that she violated §18203 knowingly.
“The evidence showed Olson knew she had been convicted of a felony involving theft of money from a government entity and then falsely affirmed the contrary,” she said. “This shows knowledge.”
The case is Bynum v. Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, C095590.
Mesiwala did not explain why, given that the 2020 election is over (with Olson’s name not appearing on the ballot), the appeal from the denial of a special motion to strike was not dismissed as moot.
The Third District on Aug. 27, 2021, in a published opinion, affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction Olson sought to bar a Hornbrook Community Services District employee from performing such tasks as adding chlorine to the[district’s water supply.
On Oct. 10, 2014, the Office of Attorney General issued an opinion indicating that Olson and another could not simultaneously serve on the Hornbrook Community Services District, which functions as a water district, and also on the fire board, declaring that these are incompatible offices.
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