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Thousand Friends of Martinez

 


Mike Menesini and Debbie McKillop
are campaigning dirty...
with lies and misinformation

 

Thousand Friends of Martinez strongly urges you to get your ballot in before November 8th and to vote for Ben Therriault and Brianne Zorn.

In the closing weeks of this November’s Martinez City Council race, mailboxes have been bombarded with a slew of mailers loaded with attacks against political opponents being sent out by political special interest groups supporting Martinez Mayoral candidate Mike Menesini and City Council District 4 candidate, Debbie McKillop.  It’s truly sad to see the political discourse in Martinez head for the gutters with misleading facts and downright lies being funded by political special interests.

Lobbyists for the building industry seem intent on spreading fear and anger among the people of Martinez in the hope of getting their favorite candidate, Michael Menesini, elected as Mayor.  Their first mailer asked “What’s Going On in Martinez?” and made our quaint town out to be some sort of neglected derelict city riddled with potholes, suffering from a crimewave of “smash and grab” robberies, and overcome by homeless who have “taken over” the city.   Ironically the mailer calls for “new leaders”, as if Mr. Menesini, who already served on council for 26 years before he was sent packing by the voters, is the answer to all of these supposed problems.  

The subsequent Menesini mailers which hit Martinez mailboxes in the last several weeks continued this fear-based approach, including one which was Halloween themed and literally demonized his opponents with darkened photos and claiming his opponents who currently serve on council had “tricked” Martinez voters into supporting the purchase of the Alhambra Highlands open space.  

In reality, Martinez voters made it clear that they wanted to keep the Alhambra Highlands as open space and free from development, while Menesini actually voted to approve development of this land when he was on council years ago.   Given that DeNova homes paid for this mailer, one wonders what they might expect of Mr. Menesini if he should be elected.   DeNova Homes recently sued the city for 35 million dollars and would likely benefit greatly should they have the future Mayor in their pocket.  Why else would they be spending so much to get him elected?       

A genuine trick played on the Martinez voters came in the form of a mailer that arrived on Halloween in support of District 4 council candidate Debbie McKillop and funded by her main supporter, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Association.  The mailer unfairly trashed Debbie's opponent, Ben Therriault.  Ironically, these supporters of Sheriff Livingston, who recently defended one of his deputies who was lawfully convicted of killing another human being and sentenced to prison, have the audacity to criticize Therriault, a dedicated serving police officer who puts his life on the line every day to protect public safety.
 
The mailer goes on to criticize Ben for police shortages in Richmond, which were more likely caused by the Richmond City Council's defund the police policies as opposed to anything Ben is responsible for.   In fact, as the unchallenged President of the Richmond’s Police Officers Association, he successfully campaigned against the defunding of more than 30 RPD officers and was a vocal critic of the defunding effort. Yet, the mailer accuses Ben of failing to do his job fighting for union members.   The mailer touts Debbie's endorsements by public safety leaders and claims Ben has no such endorsements, a lie given that he is endorsed by both the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 188 and the above mentioned endorsement by his own Richmond Police Officers Association.

The McKillop mailer goes on to highlight Debbie’s academic credentials while condescendingly claiming that Ben “claims to be working toward a degree” and fails to mention the fact that Ben delayed college and instead served honorably in the U.S. Air force including tours in Iraq.

Martinez voters need to see beyond these dirty political games and vote for City Council candidates that will bring a sensible, non-political approach to the problems facing our city.   Facing mounting challenges to our city’s infrastructure, the housing crisis, the rising cost of living, wildfire, flooding, and other potential environmental threats, we need a city council focused on working together and in the best interests of our citizens instead of their political futures. 

This is why Thousand Friends of Martinez agrees with an October 26th editorial in the East Bay Times which proclaims that “Martinez badly needs a new generation of leaders”.  The article goes on to endorse Brianne Zorn for Mayor and Ben Therriault for the District 4 city council seat, both of whom are also endorsed by our organization.  


Don't be fooled!  Support Brianne Zorn for Martinez Mayor, and Ben Therriault for City Council, District 4

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More about Thousand Friends of Martinez
 
The Mission of Thousand Friends of Martinez is to provide a stable organization which will work with residents to elect informed, conscientious representatives; promote open government; enhance our quality of life by creating a livable city; defend our parks and open spaces, and; conserve natural areas and historic elements in the greater Martinez region.

Our Objectives are to:

  • Endorse, support and fund responsible and environmentally supportive leaders
  • Promote transparent government
  • Promote better land use planning and the development of policies for the public benefit
  • Defend parks, creeks, wetlands, open space and historic elements
  • Support budgeting, ballot measures and funding for these purposes
  • Educate the public about these objectives and strategies

HELP THE CAUSE

Help Martinez strive for more transparent government, enlightened land use concepts and to defend parks, creeks, wetlands, open space and historic elements
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thousandfriendsofmartinez@outlook.com

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