Sylvia Robles Wants Things Done Right.. Leagle in GT

Complaint filed against Grand Terrace Chamber
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/22/2010 04:51:55 PM PDT


GRAND TERRACE - City Council candidate Sylvia Robles has filed a complaint against the Grand Terrace Chamber of Commerce, alleging that the chamber newsletter illegally used city funds to influence the election.
"This is the kind of cronyism that has existed in Grand Terrace, and someone needs to investigate it," she said.

Robles said she mailed her complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission on Monday, after all candidates were invited to submit a statement and one advertisement in the chamber newsletter.

Generally, the California Fair Political Practices Commission prohibits public-funded mass mailings from advertising for an elected official affiliated with the mailing.

The chamber's president, Sally McGuire, is running for mayor, and city council candidate Darcy McNaboe is on its board of directors.

Grand Terrace pays the chamber $10,320 per year for various programs, but city and chamber officials say the newsletter - the Blue Mountain Outlook - is funded entirely through advertisements.

Robles doubted that claim.

"We'll investigate," she said. "I want to verify those numbers."

McGuire and McNaboe abstained from last week's vote to seek candidate statements.

But McNaboe explained that it was meant to prepare readers for the candidate's forum that the chamber - like other chambers of commerce - traditionally holds before elections. She said she would have said the opportunity helped all candidates equally if Robles had asked.

"It's a small enough community, I hope we start asking ourselves the questions before we start making accusations," she said. "But I understand that it's an election and things get heated."

Robles called the chamber at noon Monday and left a message with the secretary. When she had not received a response by 5:30 p.m., she filed her complaint.

Robles said she didn't know the newsletter's deadline, so time was of the essence.

"I really felt badly that I had to do it, but the fact is that I felt they had me up against the wall," she said. "They're continuing to abuse what that newspaper's intent is ... and I thought it was important to stop them in their tracks, not just for me but for the entire environment."

Bruce Bebow, vice president of the chamber, said candidate statements were on hold as the group checked their legality.



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