Beverly Hills City Council elections begin amidst scandal
BEVERLY HILLS - Is there truly no such thing as bad publicity? As residents go to the polls today to vote for three Beverly Hills City Council members, they do so in the shadow of a nasty campaign that has surfaced aimed at possibly discrediting one of its’ candidates: John Mirisch.
Mirisch, whom BHCNP interviewed recently here, is just one of 11 candidates seeking a seat on the council this year, but now Beverly Hills Mayor Barry Brucker (who is also on this year’s ballot), is calling for an investigation into a series of troublesome telephone robocalls made to residents between 11 p.m. and midnight, urging to voters to vote for Mirisch.
The calls were enough to bring out the local camera crews to Beverly Hills as residents -- who received the late-night calls by an unidentified woman with slurred speech and appearing to be intoxicated -- expressed anger and concern at what is seen to be an effort to discredit Mirisch.
Brucker has called on police and the City to launch an investigation immediately following the election.
For his part, Mirisch penned a missive on The Huffington Post, noting that the telephone calls were the last in a series of moves aimed at discrediting him. In his piece, Mirisch wrote, “First there was the anonymous email implying that I'm anti-Persian and anti-Semitic…then there was anonymous email and website suggesting I was lying about the endorsement I had received from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor…then there was a creepy, voice-distorted robocall telling voters that my idea for the City to use the slow economy to land bank and purchase property in Beverly Hills for municipal uses and investment was something else entirely. In fact, the anonymous robocall suggested, if I were elected, people's houses would be confiscated under eminent domain. A similar anonymous email with the same false claim was circulated a day or so later.”
All this culminated in the drunken-sounding robocall last Thursday night.
How this affects Mirisch’s chances is anybody’s guess, but hopefully by this time tomorrow, the ballots will have been counted, three winners declared, and the City will launch a thorough investigation into these truly ugly low-ball tactics that discredit a man who wishes to do nothing more than give back to the City he loves and that casts a pall over the usually pleasant goings on in Beverly Hills.
Mirisch, whom BHCNP interviewed recently here, is just one of 11 candidates seeking a seat on the council this year, but now Beverly Hills Mayor Barry Brucker (who is also on this year’s ballot), is calling for an investigation into a series of troublesome telephone robocalls made to residents between 11 p.m. and midnight, urging to voters to vote for Mirisch.
The calls were enough to bring out the local camera crews to Beverly Hills as residents -- who received the late-night calls by an unidentified woman with slurred speech and appearing to be intoxicated -- expressed anger and concern at what is seen to be an effort to discredit Mirisch.
Brucker has called on police and the City to launch an investigation immediately following the election.
For his part, Mirisch penned a missive on The Huffington Post, noting that the telephone calls were the last in a series of moves aimed at discrediting him. In his piece, Mirisch wrote, “First there was the anonymous email implying that I'm anti-Persian and anti-Semitic…then there was anonymous email and website suggesting I was lying about the endorsement I had received from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor…then there was a creepy, voice-distorted robocall telling voters that my idea for the City to use the slow economy to land bank and purchase property in Beverly Hills for municipal uses and investment was something else entirely. In fact, the anonymous robocall suggested, if I were elected, people's houses would be confiscated under eminent domain. A similar anonymous email with the same false claim was circulated a day or so later.”
All this culminated in the drunken-sounding robocall last Thursday night.
How this affects Mirisch’s chances is anybody’s guess, but hopefully by this time tomorrow, the ballots will have been counted, three winners declared, and the City will launch a thorough investigation into these truly ugly low-ball tactics that discredit a man who wishes to do nothing more than give back to the City he loves and that casts a pall over the usually pleasant goings on in Beverly Hills.
John Mirisch: The candidate is being targeted as part of an ugly campaign tactic.
Comments:
