Lies and disinformation hit Sacramento election. Beware these local (not Russian) trolls

When it comes to lies and disinformation in the 2020 election, it’s not just Russian internet bots and trolls we must worry about.

Deliberate deceit is also invading the mailboxes and text messages of residents in Sacramento’s 4th City Council district – thanks to Service Employees International 1021 and a group called the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). A political action committee (PAC) funded by these organizations has resorted to extreme and dishonest tactics in its quest to defeat incumbent Councilman Steve Hansen.

The PAC, “Sacramento Working Families,” has adopted a strategy of lies in an effort to sway District 4 voters. In mailers and text messages, the group wrongly claims Hansen – a lifelong member of the Democratic Party – was “expelled” from the party.

That’s 100 percent false. Hansen remains a member of the Democratic Party.

The PAC bases its claim on the Sacramento County Democratic Party’s decision to oust Hansen, Councilman Eric Guerra and school board member Darrell Woo from the county party’s central committee in 2018, according to a story by The Sacramento Bee. The county party took this action after the three men supported District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s in her re-election campaign against Noah Phillips.

Schubert was a registered Republican during the race but changed to “no party preference” shortly after beating Phillips with 64 percent of the vote. Phillips’ campaign struggled after he was forced to apologize for an email in which he responded favorably to a racist, sexist joke.

At the time, Hansen called the county party’s decision to oust him from the committee a case of “political payback.” Hansen had defeated the county’s party chair, Terry Schanz, for the District 4 council seat in 2012. In addition, all three men had opposed Schanz’s campaign for party chair.

In any case, Hansen remains a member of the Democratic Party. Of course, municipal offices are nonpartisan, meaning voters can pick their candidates based on their qualifications rather than their party affiliations.

The PAC’s mailers are an attempt to distort reality and make fools out of District 4 voters. The lying flyers also claim Hansen “supports Republicans,” but there’s no evidence of this. Schubert is no longer a Republican and Hansen is a progressive Democrat – and the first openly gay member of the council.

The deceitful attacks on Hansen go too far for Katie Valenzuela, the candidate seeking to replace him.

“I am disturbed by these attacks and they were not sent, authorized by or coordinated with my campaign,” wrote Valenzuela on Facebook, shortly after The Bee contacted her about the mailers. “I hope that the people responsible for these pieces will stop attacking my opponent so we can refocus our discussion on the issues we all care about.”

This isn’t the PAC’s first dishonest hit on Hansen. Its minions previously filed frivolous complaints against Hansen with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and sent out mailers insinuating Hansen was in trouble. In reality, the FPPC quickly rejected the flimsy, politically-motivated complaints.

This Editorial Board endorsed Steve Hansen because he has a track record of getting things done. It’s fine for others to oppose his reelection; that’s politics. But their reliance on outright lies falls far below ethical standards and insults the intelligence of voters.

We urge District 4 residents to ignore the lies from special interest groups and reelect Steve Hansen.

This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 10:00 AM.