Ballot-Measure Mailer Irks Apartment Assn.

Threats of legal action came just a few hours too late to prevent the mailing of a proposed ordinance to the city’s 11,200 registered voters.

A political action group affiliated with the Apartment Assn. of Orange County on Wednesday called the mailing an illegal use of public funds to build support for Measure B, which would fund police and fire services through a public safety services fee.

The measure comes before Stanton voters June 3.

“We intend to file a complaint with the FPPC [state Fair Political Practices Commission] and pursue this to the fullest extent of the law,” said Frank Caterinicchio, a Newport Beach political consultant representing Stanton Taxpayers Against Measure B, a group created by the county apartment owners’ association.

“They chose to spend taxpayer dollars on a mailer that’s clearly designed to influence the outcome of the election,” Caterinicchio said.

A synopsis of the proposed ordinance and a cover letter were mailed early Wednesday, just hours before the city received a warning letter faxed from attorneys representing Taxpayers Against Measure B. Attorney Peter Bagatelos said the mailing is a violation of the California Political Reform Act of 1974, and he suggested that council members reimburse the city for the cost.

Councilman David John Shawver, who has led the campaign in favor of Measure B, said he has no intention of paying for the cost of the mailing.

“The only reason we’re doing this is because the ordinance isn’t in the voter’s pamphlet,” Shawver said. “We’re not asking people to vote for Measure B, they just wanted to have more information.”

Shawver said the county apartment owners group is vigorously opposing Measure B because they fear it would spread to other cities if successful.

“They don’t want this idea to catch on in the rest of Orange County,” Shawver said.