Mayor Asks Opponent to Join Him in Denouncing Attacks

Menifee Mayor Scott Mann today condemned what he described as "a scurrilous, repulsive and false campaign smear" against him and demanded that opponent Paul Wiggins repudiate the material in accordance with the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

Mann (left) referred to a flier that has been hung on the front door of houses in the Sun City community of Menifee that includes defamatory statements about the mayor and reported facts that are not true. The flier says Mann "has done too much damage to the city and carries too much baggage to be a good mayor." It urges residents to "vote no for Scott Mann for mayor of Menifee."

"This cheap shot was anonymous, without proper identification of the sender, and in violation of the state Political Reform Act," Mann said in a press release distributed today. "I'm not saying Mr. Wiggins is the author of this piece. However, he signed a Code of Fair Campaign Practices pledge, and I demand that he repudiate this material in the spirit of that commitment."

Mann's reference is to a document signed by both Mann and Wiggins when each applied to run for mayor in November. A signer of the Code of Fair Campaign Practices pledges that:

-- I shall not use or permit the use of character defamation, whispering campaigns, libel, slander, or scurrilous attacks on any candidate or his or her personal or family life.

-- I shall immediately and publicly repudiate support deriving from any individual or group that resorts, on behalf of my candidacy or in opposition to that of my opponent, to the methods and tactics that I condemn. I shall accept responsibility to take firm action against any subordinate who violates any provision of this code or the laws governing elections."

Mann said that in light of these promises, Wiggins should immediately renounce the smear and that if any member of Wiggins' campaign is responsible, they should be publicly admonished.

Wiggins (right) said today he was not aware of any such flier.

"I know nothing about that flier, and if I do hear about it, I will demand that it be stopped," Wiggins said.

The flier refers to a $1,500 fine Mann was assessed by the Fair Political Practices Commission for failure to disclose non-monetary contributions totaling $982.25 from the Menifee Taxpayers Association during his 2012 campaign. Almost all of the other allegations made in the flier are false, including:

-- A statement that violent crime is up 200 percent in Menifee and that Mann refuses to release funds to increase police force protection.

According to the latest figures released by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, violent crime is up 13.8 percent -- from 87 in 2012 to 99 in 2013 (figures for 2014 are not yet available). Only one portion of that number -- homicides -- is up 200 percent -- from a total of one homicide in 2012 to three in 2013. Mann does not have authority to release funds for public safety; all council members vote on budgetary items.

-- A statement that Mann approved a deficit budget for two years, draining the general fund.

Mann cannot approve a budget alone. The current balanced budget, approved unanimously by the city council in June, includes projected revenue of $27,598,244 in the general fund, compared to budgeted expenses of $27,592,016.

-- A statement that Mann has overthrown the vote of the people by demanding placement on the November ballot measure K, a $1,200 increase in the mayor's salary "forever."

A 2010 vote of the people set the mayor's position as an at-large position of two years, as opposed to the other council members' four-year terms. The other council members' salaries were set at $6,000 per year and the mayor's salary at $8,000 per year. However, only the other council members were approved for a 5 percent annual raise from that point on.

Measure K was unanimously approved by the council July 30 to place on the November ballot a proposal to set the mayor's salary the same as the other council members, plus an extra $100 per month to keep the mayor's salary slightly higher than other council members.

Speaking against that proposal during the July 30 council meeting was resident Anne Pica, who was the author of the resolution that originally created council districts and set the mayor's position as a two-year, at-large position. She argued that Mann pushed for this resolution only for personal gain and that it would "overthrow the vote of the people in 2010."

This is the second consecutive Menifee city election campaign in which anonymous fliers were distributed in Sun City with false allegations against candidates. In 2012, fliers were distributed attacking mayor candidate Darcy Kuenzi and city council candidate Sue Kristjansson. Both candidates were defeated in the election.