The election mail tailed off as trick or treating began here in my Irvine neighborhood, then stopped three days before the election, allowing me to give Voice of OC readers a glimpse into the magnitude of political persuasion efforts known as direct mail.
With voter decisions pending at the national, state and local levels, our household received more than 2.2 pounds of literature, 103 pieces in total. Much of it arrived in early October as soon as vote-by mail ballots were distributed. It came in a variety of sizes and formats, but all of it was in full color.
The hottest race in our area was the fight for the open seat in the House of Representatives 47th district. State Senator Dave Min and former Assemblyman Scott Baugh were the candidates. Mailers backing Baugh totalled 12, anti-Baugh mailers seven, for a total of 19. One Baugh pro-piece was especially moving, telling how the candidate’s brother was a victim of a drug overdose. Mail opposing Baugh largely focused on his prior legal problems and stance on abortion.
Min was carpet-bombed by negative mail, 13 pieces that combined his drunk driving arrest with alleged soft on crime positions. Min’s photo of his arrest has been reproduced so often it now rivals the Mona Lisa for familiarity. Only four pieces of pro-Min mail arrived.
In the 37th State Senate district, current Senator Josh Newman faced former Assemblyman Steven Choi. Fourteen pieces of pro-Newman mail arrived, most of it showing Newman with policemen and firemen, and touting his status as an Army veteran. There were seven anti-Newman mailers, reminding voters he was previously recalled and alleging he is soft on crime issues. Choi managed just three mailers in favor of his candidacy while attracting five opposing him.
Five pieces of mail supporting Incumbent Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris arrived, none attacking her and none at all from her opponent.
In Irvine we now have six city council districts and the office of the mayor. Individual elections in each of the districts determine who will be the councilmember, the mayor runs at large in the entire city. As this is the first election with this system, four of the six seats are up for grabs.
Our house is in District 1, where five candidates competed. John Park took the top volume position, with fourteen mailers featuring family photos, endorsement from the police union and a variety of positions on other issues. Next was Melinda Liu, with six pro mailers and three in opposition. Michelle Johnson sent six pieces of mail in support of her candidacy. Along with Liu, Johnson was attacked by the Lincoln Club, labeling the pair as opportunists and “rich” because together they personally gave their campaigns about $200,000. Clearly the Lincoln Club is out of touch with what constitutes “rich” in this part of Irvine, where $200,000 will barely buy three Teslas. But I digress.
One other candidate for council, Jeff Kitchen, sent two pieces of mail, including a photo of himself dressed as a chef, winning the award for creativity.
Only two candidates for mayor sent mail to the house: Tammy Kim and Larry Agran. Kim was the beneficiary of 11 pieces of mail, pledging support for (and from) police and firefighter interests. Her harshest criticisms were embedded in copies of Community News and Views, a publication that has been around Irvine for decades.
Billed as a “community newspaper established under the laws of the state of California,” it is published online except when local elections roll around, then it appears in mailboxes in print. The publisher is Frank Lunding, a former Irvine resident who lives in Monterey, according to his California State Bar records. Usually running eight pages, five pages of the paper are devoted to community news and events, while the front page and next three pages usually focus on local issues and elected officials.
Eight editions of Community News and Views were published and mailed in the last six months, each one increasingly filled with attacks on Tammy Kim and praise for Agran. The final two issues endorsed Agran for mayor as well as Michelle Johnson. (Agran placed ads promoting his candidacy in six of the eight issues of the publication). Other council candidates– William Go, Liu, James Mai and Jing Sun–were accused of taking money from “out of town special interests” by the paper.
Finally, our house received ten slate mailers. Slates are typically sponsored by political parties, but for years have also been organized by political operatives who sell space on the card to candidates and issues. Some are easier to identify than others–when you see the COPS VOTER GUIDE, you might assume it was sponsored by law enforcement. Only when you read the fine print do you see it is published by a “non-partisan public advocacy organization (that) does not represent any public safety personnel.”
My favorite slate is the Save Proposition 13 Newsletter, featuring a photo of Howard Jarvis, who has been dead for nearly forty years.
We also received mail supporting Proposition 4 and opposing Proposition 33. We also got a couple of mailers stating that gas prices are up, blaming the legislature in total. Go figure.
By the time you read this, the results will be in and we can analyze how effective direct mail was or was not in these races.
Michael Stockstill is a retired public affairs executive and author. He resides in Irvine.
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