By Brian Park
Just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, thousands of San Juan residents received a politically-charged flier critical of the recall effort against Mayor Sam Allevato and the Capistrano Taxpayers Association’s water rate lawsuit against the city.
The double-sided glossy fliers, 9,500 in all, were produced by Costa Mesa-based political consultant David Ellis and paid for by resident Rob Ferguson’s group, San Juan Cares.
The flier features a photo of resident Clint Worthington, who served Allevato with recall papers in September, lying shirtless on a beach with a woman lying beside him and her arm wrapped around Worthington’s chest. A caption on the photo identifies Worthington as the leader of the recall effort and a headline reads, “Local Beekeeper Celebrates Filing San Juan Capistrano Recall Papers.”
Worthington called the flier a “slick tactic” and said litigation will now be filed against San Juan Cares and the photographer.
The flier also highlights court documents filed by the CTA seeking $422,120 in attorney’s fees. In August, an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the CTA and declared San Juan’s water rates illegal, but the city has since filed an appeal.
Worthington objected to the flier’s statement that he filed the motion for attorney’s fees, saying although he was initially part of the CTA, he hasn’t participated in the group’s efforts for several months.
The flier also mentions past, ongoing and potential lawsuits in San Juan, including a 2009 lawsuit from which the Capistrano Unified School District was ordered to pay $653,350 to seven families who appeared on an “enemies list” compiled by former district officials. CTA member and current CUSD Trustee Jim Reardon, who was a plaintiff in the case, is mentioned in the flier.
In response, Reardon filed a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which responded quickly, saying that they found no wrongdoing.
“The FPPC took the position that the mailer attacked lawsuits, not the recall,” Reardon said.
In an interview with The Dispatch in November, Ferguson said San Juan Cares would not be registering with the state as a political action committee.
