Mission Local is publishing campaign dispatches for each of the major contenders in the mayor’s race, alternating among candidates weekly until November. This week: Mark Farrell. Read earlier dispatches here.
The San Francisco Democratic Party has accused mayoral candidate Mark Farrell of misusing its logo on a Proposition D mailer sent out to voters last week.
The eight-by-11 inch mailer in question prominently features a photo of Farrell and a quote of his endorsement for Proposition D, the measure to cap city commissions, next to the SF Dems logo in a dark blue circle — one remarkably similar to the party’s endorsement seal.
While the party has endorsed Prop. D, it has not endorsed Farrell; that honor went to Mayor London Breed, who nabbed the party’s sole endorsement.
According to a letter from the party’s executive committee, the party did not authorize Farrell to use its logo on a Prop. D mailer, and the logo “could mislead or confuse voters as to our endorsement” for mayor.
Farrell’s campaign disagreed with the accusation. “Anyone can clearly see that the logo on the mailer says that the Party endorsed Yes on D,” said Jade Tu, Farrell’s campaign manager, who is also an elected member of the local Democratic Party and sits alongside the members who wrote the letter to Farrell.
“As a member of the [Democratic County Central Committee], I believe our body should be focused on delivering the change that we were elected to enact instead of throwing mud on behalf of Mayor Breed at one of her political opponents and a fellow Democrat,” said Tu.
Nancy Tung, the chair of the party’s executive committee, who authored the letter, said the inclusion of the seal “dilutes the value of our endorsement to the people we have actually endorsed.” In the mayor’s race, only Breed should be able to use the SF Dems endorsement seal, Tung said.
The mailer was paid for by “Mark Farrell for Yes on Prop. D,” the committee set up by Farrell’s campaign in support of the measure, which was placed on the ballot by the political advocacy group TogetherSF and would reduce about 130 city commissions to 65, and broaden mayoral powers.
According to Tung, the campaigns endorsed by the party have received the official seal to place on their materials, but that does not include candidate-controlled ballot committees, like Farrell’s. “His candidate-controlled committee is not authorized to use our endorsement seal,” said Tung.
Mission Local previously reported that, according to attorneys for three mayoral opponents, a previous mailer issued by Farrell’s committee “unambiguously violated campaign laws.” One side of the mailer, which purportedly urges voters to pass Prop. D, showed a photo of Farrell touting his unrelated accomplishments as interim mayor in 2018.
The mailer was an issue because Farrell’s ballot measure committee is not allowed to use its fund to support his race for mayor.
Farrell’s opponents have also criticized Farrell for using his ballot measure committee as an indirect fundraising vehicle for his own candidate campaign and for sharing a significant amount of expenses between the two campaigns. While Farrell can solicit contributions of any amount in support of Prop D., he is limited to receiving contributions of $500 to his mayoral campaign.
To date, Farrell has raised $2,133,028 in support of Prop. D, $127,942 of which was used to cover expenses shared by his campaign committee.
Tung said she hopes this letter will serve as a warning not only to Farrell but to any other candidate the party has not endorsed. “We’re hoping that going forward there won’t be any more hiccups,” she said. “That remains to be seen.”
I don’t know about others, but when I get any of these mailers I just throw them away!
DCC is as corrupt as it comes. Being upset about Farrell using their icon, fine.
We’re upset about their cronyism and support of known corrupt clowns like Breed.
Nancy Tung was part of the Billionaire-backed takeover masquerading as a recall.
Fire Breed and set fire to the DCC, it is worthless except as a tool of corrupt cityfamily forever-incumbents who will sell out SF to Billionaires until we do.
No more hiccups from Jade Tu? Good luck with that.
Farrell’s sleaziness aside, the SF Democratic Party should also not have endorsed Prop D (for dictator), an antidemocratic measure that would turn important city bodies like the Planning Commission, SFMTA Board, and Rent Board into puppet shows completely controlled by the mayor. It’s a recipe for corruption and mismanagement regardless who’s in the mayor’s office, and as Mission Local noted, even Breed has turned against it.