California, National Realtors Associations spend big to defeat Antioch mayor
Over $65,000 for research, polling, website and mailer saying Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe is “Unfit for Leadership”
By Allen D. Payton
A direct-mail hit piece arrived in Antioch residents’ mailboxes on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, against Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe saying he’s “Unfit for Leadership” and “Not Right for Antioch”. It was paid for by the California Real Estate Independent Expenditure Committee – California Association of REALTORS with the National Association of REALTORS® and California Association of REALTORS® as the “Committee’s Top Funders”.
According to the campaign finance report known as a Form 496, available through the Antioch City Clerk’s website, as of Oct. 8, 2024, the opposition campaign had spent $65,328.50 to defeat the incumbent, of which $40,000.00 paid for the mailer and a website, $17,312.50 for polling and $8,016.00 for research. (See CA Realtors Form 496)
Before independent expenditure committees spend money to support or oppose a candidate or ballot measure, they will pay for research and then a conduct a poll or survey of likely voters to determine the level of support or opposition, and what issues they should highlight in a campaign to achieve their goals.
The mailer highlights the mayor’s $350,000 sexual harassment claims settlement by the County in September 2022 and shows newspaper headlines and quotes from articles and editorials of his “intolerable misogynistic behavior” and include comments that, “He must resign” and “For the sake of the city, Thorpe should step aside.”
The mailer provides a website address of www.unfitforleadership.com which offers more details about Hernandez-Thorpe’s controversial behavior during his term as mayor with sub-headers of Sexual Harassment, Illegal Meetings, Selling His Office and Drunk Driving. The website shares information about the mayor’s political affairs consulting business, El Sereno Strategic Group, which, according to Bizpedia he formed on January 24, 2022. The company’s website includes a photo of Hernandez-Thorpe sitting in the Mayor’s Office at Antioch City Hall signing a City of Antioch certificate for someone and other photos from his official duties, including from some of his many press conferences.
One premise of the opposition campaign website is that the mayor is “Trading On His Political Relationships… ‘cultivated’ while an elected official in Antioch should be used to benefit the Citizens of Antioch, not reserved for paying clients.”
Questions for Hernandez-Thorpe Go Unanswered
Hernandez-Thorpe was asked if he’d seen the mailer and website and had any comments about them. He was also asked about his business website and why he’s using photos from his official duties, specifically from inside the Mayor’s Office at City Hall to promote his company. Hernandez-Thorpe was also asked if he thinks it’s appropriate and doesn’t it create the appearance that the mayor is mixing his elected duties with his business activities. Most importantly, the mayor was asked if he does any business with any client who has had dealings with the City of Antioch and/or has been before the city council for a vote.
Multiple efforts to reach the mayor and his campaign consultant were unsuccessful prior to publication time on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Please check back later for any updates to this report.
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the attachments to this post:
Realtors Hernandez-Thorpe hit piece mailer
NAR & CAR vs Hernandez-Thorpe
UnfitForLeadership website screenshot
