HUNTINGTON BEACH : Law Passed to Curb Political ‘Hit Pieces’

In a 6-0 vote, the City Council gave final approval to an ordinance aimed at curbing political “hit pieces.”

“Hit pieces” are last-minute flyers or mailers that make serious or misleading charges against candidates. The flyers and mailers usually are timed so that the accused candidates have no chance to respond before an election.

Under the ordinance passed Monday night, candidates will be given earlier notice of accusations that are being made against them and therefore have more time to issue rebuttals. The ordinance is effective June 1.

Mayor Peter M. Green last month introduced a proposal for the ordinance, modeled after one passed last year in Newport Beach. The measure called for persons distributing 200 or more “campaign documents” in the last two weeks of an election to file copies of the material with the city clerk’s office “within two hours of first distribution.”

Green said that filing flyers with the clerk would allow candidates an opportunity “to respond to statements . . . that are untrue or believed to be untrue.”

In the bitter 1988 city election, slow-growth advocate Geri Ortega was barely defeated for the City Council after a pro-growth group mailed out hit pieces against her in the last days of the campaign. Ortega has said that polls showed her to be the leading candidate in the election until the hit pieces were mailed. The mailers used grotesque photos of Ortega and accused her of being against downtown redevelopment and not interested in stopping “crime in the area.”

Ortega has said that the hit pieces came too late for her to respond to the charges, which she branded as lies and distortions.

In a report to the City Council, City Atty. Gail C. Hutton said the ordinance passed last year by Newport Beach did not abridge free-speech protection and had proven to be effective in helping clean up political campaigns.