By Scott Malsin
Re “I Am Stupid, and You Cannot Change My Mind”
[img]1294|right|Christopher Armenta||no_popup[/img]I have known Chris Armenta for over a decade. Having served with him for four years on the City Council in Culver City, I know his heart is in the right place. When asked if I would endorse his campaign for state Assembly, I did so without reservation.
However, having seen a recent campaign mailer attacking his opponent, I am withdrawing my support.
I have always set a high standard for my own conduct during campaigns. I never engaged in personal attacks, never condoned negative campaigning on my behalf, and always have taken responsibility for any material released on my behalf. I am disappointed that Chris condoned the release of this hit piece.
This issue is a fresh one for me. During our recent School Board campaign, I released two public statements condemning harassing and unethical behavior targeted against a candidate. I find it impossible to support a candidate engaging in behavior of a similar nature.
I recently had the opportunity to speak at great length with Assembly candidate Sebastian Ridley-Thomas. I was extremely impressed by his intellect and his personal warmth. What struck me most, though, was the depth of his understanding of Culver City’s issues. His familiarity with my community is comprehensive and nuanced. It instilled in me great confidence that Mr. Ridley-Thomas will represent us well.
I am proud to offer my support to Sebastian Ridley-Thomas’s campaign for state Assembly.
Mr. Malsin, former Mayor of Culver City, may be contacted at scott@themalsins.com
Headline: Sebastian and Malsin in Harmony
Editor’s Note: Mr. Ridley-Thomas, the heavy favorite in the Dec. 3 special election to succeed now-state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Culver City):
[img]1987|right|Sebastian Ridley-Thomas||no_popup[/img]“I share Scott Malsin’s concerns and interests regarding our state’s need to help our cities grow sensibly and smartly while creating new jobs that can put unemployed and under-employed residents back to work full time.”
“I share Scott’s desire to see our state adequately fund K-12 education and expand pre-K instruction to support our parents, teachers and neighborhood schools. Culver City can easily be viewed as a community that got a lot of things right by working together. Downtown Culver City has become a destination that is the envy of many other communities. Scott Malsin played in role in that central city transformation. I intend to turn to Scott for guidance and advice when I’m elected to serve the people of Culver City and Los Angeles in the State Assembly,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas said.
Spokesperson Fred MacFarlane said that Mr. Malsin’s endorsement switch was triggered by inflammatory charges made by Mr. Armenta in a campaign mailer distributed to targeted voters in Culver City and West Los Angeles over the past five days. Mr. Armenta’s mailer attacked Mr. Ridley-Thomas and his father, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Mr. Armenta’s mailer falsely accused Supervisor Ridley-Thomas of allegedly pushing to set the date for the 54th Assembly District special primary election so balloting would occur during the Jewish observance of Chanukah and might result in lower turnout among Jewish voters.
