First Direct Mail Piece in the San Bernardino City Clerk’s Election November 2011
September 8, 2011 Leave a comment
By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
When I was a Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Bernardino, I learned a thing or two about San Bernardino politics. One was that you shouldn’t bother spending money before Labor Day for a November election. The second thing I learned is that with more voters using vote by mail (what used to be called absentee voting), candidates have to send direct mail earlier, and last minute hit pieces don’t work as well as they used to do. Typically, a candidate will send a positive mailer first, particularly if they are not well-known.
Thus, to no surprise, the first direct mail piece arrived two days after Labor Day. This piece comes from the Committee to Elect Gigi Hanna City Clerk 2001, ID# 1340217. Here is the front, here is the back.
According to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Consolidated Election, November 8, 2011 Candidate List, here are the candidates with their ballot titles for San Bernardino City Clerk:
Georgeann “Gigi” Hanna, Communications/Administration Manager; Peggi Hazlett, Assistant to Mayor; Esther Jimenez, Senior Legislative Assistant, Amelia Sanchez-Lopez, Health Education Specialist; and William A. Valle, Maintenance Clerk.
The direct mail piece has a graphic on the front with the United States Constitution, an American flag, and a picture of Gigi Hanna. The front text says “Vote Gigi Hanna City Clerk 2011” and “Tested Record Keeper Open Government/Public Records Expert Always Neutral”
The reverse says “Gigi Hanna is a public information expert with 25 years’ experience in managing people, records, large projects and diverse personalities, always maintaining professional neutrality.”
It continues: “City Clerk Training City Clerks Association of California”
“Communications Chair/Policy Work Group Healthy San Bernardino Coalition”
“Associate Director Water Resources Institute Cal State San Bernardino”
“Communications/Administrative Coordinator California Alluvial Fan Task Force”
“Communications/Program Administrator City Makeover Project, Metropolitan Water District”
“Annual Financial Report Writer/Editor 2004, 2005, 2006 Metropolitan Water District of Southern Calif.”
“14 Years’ Experience Journalist”
“Vote Gigi Hanna The clear choice”
“Created in-house. Printed by Crown Printers. Please support San Bernardino businesses’
I was unable to locate a website for Ms. Hanna at this time (and there was none on the mailer), but here is a link to her public LinkedIn profile. According to the profile, since August 2011, she has been the principal at “LittleWing Communications.” She claims to have a BA in Journalism from Humboldt State awarded in 1992, and a MA in Communications awarded in 2009 from CSU Fullerton.
What does the City Charter of the City of San Bernardino say about qualifications to be San Bernardino City Clerk?
Section 235. Qualification of officers. The City Clerk and City Treasurer
shall have been qualified electors and residents of the City for a period of at least
thirty (30) consecutive days prior to their appointment or filing of their nomination
papers for election to office.
I’ll be writing more about the election as other advertisements, websites, and other campaign material comes forth.
The information you obtain at this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading or commenting on this blog. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.
About Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law
Michael Reiter, Municipal Attorney. Partner with Cole Huber, LLP in Ontario, Roseville California 