MARK MCGINN, Dana Point
In 2018, I ran for Dana Point City Council in District 2. I felt strongly that the residents of Dana Point needed a voice in local government to push back on the forces of real estate development that have been driving city politics and policy for some time. Unfortunately, I lost to Richard Viczorek.
Late in the race, the Dana Point Taxpayers Association (DPTA) paid for a series of negative advertisements that flat-out lied about my affiliation with a real estate developer. There was never any such affiliation. All records of political donations are public, and anyone could find that I took no money from real estate developers. The DPTA is listed as one of Mr. Viczorek’s campaign contributors ($2,467 to “Oppose McGinn”). Mayor (Joe) Muller and Councilmember (Jamey) Federico also list the DPTA as donors to their campaigns.
The DPTA paid for a series of advertisements that published lies about me and two other candidates. As a result of those false advertisements, DPTA is currently engaged in a lawsuit for “disseminating a campaign flyer that includes false statements” in direct violation of California Civil Code, Section 45.
This past weekend, the DPTA sponsored the “Trolley Hop,” an event that used the City of Dana Point’s trolleys to sell mugs and T-shirts to raise funds for the DPTA. Assemblyman Bill Brough’s Facebook page published a picture of Mr. Brough, Mayor Muller, and others holding mugs in front of one of the city’s trolleys.
Clearly, Mayor Muller is involved in this. The residents of Dana Point are owed an explanation. To Mayor Muller, Councilmembers Viczorek and Federico, and City Manager Mark Denny, were you aware of this and responsible for it? Is it the policy of our city government to allow a scandalous and politically biased organization like the DPTA to use city property to raise funds?
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