East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee disavowed a recent mailer sent by Oakland District 2 Councilmember Abel Guillen that used her image and suggested she has endorsed his campaign.
“I do not condone this kind of dishonest campaigning,” Lee said on her campaign’s Twitter feed. The statement came just hours before polls close in Alameda County.
Guillen is in a difficult re-election campaign against Oakland community organizer Nikki Fortunato Bas, a race many regard as a toss-up.
Lee’s response is reminiscent of two years ago when Peggy Moore, a former aide to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, told voters in a push poll that the popular congresswoman had endorsed her campaign against Oakland At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.
The assertion was not true. At the time, Lee issued a similar rebuke of Moore. “Congresswoman Barbara Lee has not endorsed Peggy Moore in the Oakland City Council at large race nor does she intend to endorse Peggy Moore,” said the campaign in 2016. “Any indication to the contrary is simply false.”
A complaint was made to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission just prior to the November 2016 election and Moore was fined $2,500 last June.
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