By Allen Payton
A coordinated email blast was sent out to Antioch residents on Saturday, Oct. 10, entitled “Mayor Sean Wright Lies – a Page Out of Trump Playbook” by Councilmember Monica Wilson, Mayor Pro Tem Joy Motts and council candidate Nichole Gardner who is running in District 3. It follows on the heels of the letter to the editor sent out by Contra Costa County District Attorney blasting Wright for his response to her policy on charging people for looting during a state of emergency. (See related articles, here and here). They shared her letter to the editor, again.
They also injected partisan politics into the campaign for the non-partisan offices of mayor and city council, labeling Wright a Republican. The three also attempted to tie Wright to the president calling him “Antioch’s Baby TRUMP”.
The email was sent out from Wilson’s personal account and the link to photo of the three candidates takes you to her campaign Facebook page.
When reached for comment, Wright responded, “Antioch is at the crossroads when it comes to crime. If my fellow electeds don’t see that, they are wearing blinders and putting our residents in harm’s way. Antioch CANNOT support any policy that allows shoplifters, looters or individuals in possession of hardline drugs like heroin, cocaine or methamphetamines to go scot-free. Calling me names or wrongly associating me with politicians I don’t even know won’t change my position on this issue.”
From: Monica, Joy & Nichole <wilsonme@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 10, 2020, 05:44:25 PM PDT
Subject: Mayor Sean Wright Lies – a Page Out of Trump Playbook
We are beyond disturbed by Republican Sean Wright’s dog-whistle attacks on people of color. He’s clearly cut from the same cloth as Donald Trump. He makes a mockery of serious public policy on social media like Trump. He lies about almost anything like Trump. And, he literally has contempt for poor people like Trump. Below is a letter from our county’s top law enforcement officer, District Attorney Diana Becton about Sean Wright’s lies.
Dear Antioch Residents:
“The most dangerous untruths are truths slightly distorted.” Recently, Sean Wright, the Mayor of Antioch has made repeated distorted untruths about the District Attorney office policies, and about my record as your District Attorney. To have an elected official, make distorted truths, and then hide his head in the sand and refuse to learn the true facts is troubling, to say the least. I take transparency and accountability very seriously, as any elected official should.
Facts matter. First, the Mayor bought a political smear hit piece from a biased website about looting. He never reached out to me to find out what my office guidelines actually require. The guidelines do not prohibit the filing of any looting case – in fact, just recently, we filed a felony looting case. The truth is, my office guidelines assist prosecutors in making the distinction between thefts and burglaries that merely happen while we are in the pandemic, and lootings which are substantially motivated by a state of emergency. The guidelines are on the District Attorney website. I encourage you to read them.
Second, your mayor attacked our office policies regarding low-level, stand-alone drug cases. What he fails to mention is that initially these cases are referred to the behavioral health care system for treatment. Please do not forget the failed policies of the War on Drugs. Arresting citizens for possession of small amounts of drugs, taking them to jail, and releasing them without treatment ensures that these individuals will soon be arrested again, and so the cycle continues. The aim of my office policy is to stop chronic patterns of arrest, to connect individuals to behavioral health services, to reduce the burden on the court system and law enforcement, and to allow prosecutors to focus on more serious and violent crimes.
Of course, repeat offenders can be charged, diverted, or suffer additional consequences. As the chief law enforcement officer for the county, I take my oath seriously to protect the public. However, clogging our criminal justice system with low-level crimes does not deter crime nor find equitable solutions for our community. I am focused on common-sense solutions that are fair and equitable, and good for the entire community.
Here are some items to keep in mind during this election season. We cannot let lies get in the way of the truth, even during campaign season. The mayor is making this a political attack against me in order to bolster his campaign for re-election, and to take swipes at his East Bay Times endorsed opponent, Lamar Thorpe. Stand on our own record Mr. Mayor, and please stop trying to bolster your platform by making distorted claims about our office policies.
During the election season, we hear from elected officials about their vision for their community. Unfortunately, despite his message of unifying the community, your Mayor is trying to divide Antioch and use our office as a foil and create a controversy when none exists. Examine the facts. Facts matter.
Sincerely,
Diana Becton
District Attorney, Contra Costa County |
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the attachments to this post:
Diane Becton photo
Sean Wright Antioch’s Baby TRUMP
3 council candidates
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2020 at 11:33 am and is filed under District Attorney, News, Politics & Elections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.