The Baltimore Sun has reported that former District 18 House candidate Vanessa Atterbeary employed Julius Henson, the campaign operative who was responsible for voter suppression robocalls for Bob Ehrlich in Baltimore. The Sun says Henson has “a history of rough-and-tumble campaign tactics” and links him to what happened this summer in District 18.
The Sun refers to Vanessa Atterbeary’s misleading mailer in which she inaccurately claimed to have the support of several elected officials. We reprint an excerpt from her mailer below.
Six of these officials denied endorsing Atterbeary or permitting their images to be used in her literature. None of these officials confirmed their support for her. Atterbeary herself blamed a “printing error” and said, “That should not have gone out.” MPW first commented on the mailer on August 30. Atterbeary paid Universal Elections, one of Henson’s companies that later made the suppression robocalls, $19,000 for “direct mailing by mail house” on August 26.
The mailer was not the only noteworthy event during the primary. Atterbeary’s campaign made illegal robocalls, covered the district with illegal signs as early as May, received a warning from the Town of Kensington and damaged voters’ cars. During this period of time, Atterbeary paid Henson’s companies – Universal Elections and Politics Today Inc. – $79,489.99. Those payments accounted for 62% of her total campaign spending through 8/27/10.
She may have paid Henson even more but her pre-general election campaign finance report is more than two weeks overdue.
Disclosure: The author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Atterbeary Linked to Ehrlich Voter Suppression Robocaller
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Atterbeary Mailer Story Makes Gazette, USA Today
Our story on Vanessa Atterbeary's dishonest mailer made both the Gazette and USA Today. Here's a screenshot of USA Today's website.
So across the country, thousands and thousands of people are stranded grumpily on the tarmac with their crumpled copies of USA Today, and the only thing they know about Vanessa Atterbeary is that she sends out dishonest mailers.
Niiice.
Disclosure: the author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Elected Officials Repudiate Vanessa Atterbeary’s Mailer
In a recent mailer, District 18 House candidate Vanessa Atterbeary displayed a group of pictures of her posing with elected officials, including one titled, “We all agree that Vanessa Atterbeary is the one.”
We have not seen any evidence that any of these officials have actually endorsed Atterbeary, so we asked several of them what they thought of the mailer. Here are their responses.
Council Member Valerie Ervin:I endorsed the D-18 slate early on. I have not been in contact with Ms. Atterbeary and did not know that my photograph was being used in her campaign mailer. I believe that Vanessa Atterbeary has a bright political future - but she will not endear herself to future voters or future colleagues by using this type of campaign tactic.
Delegate Anne Kaiser (D-14):All elected officials know that any picture they take with someone could end up in someone’s campaign literature one day. Just the picture, of course. I’m in this picture and did not endorse Vanessa Atterbeary - though I know that I’m not the elected official she’s trying to highlight. And I have nothing against Vanessa - she might be a great person. Anyone in the picture could tell you that it’s from the Maryland Women's Legislative Briefing event back in January. Lilly Ledbetter was the speaker and we all wanted to be in the picture with her. Vanessa was the chair of the event so that’s why she was in the picture as well.
County Executive Ike Leggett:I have made my endorsements in this race. [Note: Leggett endorsed the incumbents.]
Delegate Susan Lee (D-16):I am proudly supporting the District 18 Democrats: Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegates Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez, and Jeff Waldstreicher.
Delegate Karen Montgomery (D-14):No, I am not endorsing her or other candidates. We all wanted to be in a picture with a gutsy woman, Ms. Ledbetter, to show our support of HER courage.
Council Member Nancy Navarro:I am very surprised to see my photo incorporated in this campaign mailer. I attended the Commission for women legislative briefing not realizing that Ms. Atterbeary would utilize the photos for her campaign materials. I have endorsed the D18 slate, and I hope that voters are not mislead by this mailer.
Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who also appears in Atterbeary’s mailer, has endorsed the incumbents and has even appeared in their literature.
This campaign has lost all credibility by making illegal robocalls, swamping the district with illegal signs, getting a warning from the Town of Kensington, vandalizing voters’ cars and now sending out dishonest mailers which even Vanessa Atterbeary herself is now disavowing. Everyone is entitled to run for office, but no one is entitled to run a campaign like this.
Disclosure: The author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Vanessa Atterbeary's Misleading Flier
By Paul Gordon.
Remember the sleazy “Ehrlich Steele Democrats” flier that was used in 2006 to mislead African American voters in Prince Georges County into thinking that the two Republican candidates had both been endorsed by Democrats Wayne Curry, Kweisi Mfume, and Jack Johnson?
I came back from vacation Sunday and found a campaign mailing from Vanessa Atterbeary that reminded me of that notorious flier from 2006. In the center is a photo of Atterbeary with popular Democratic officials including Chris Van Hollen, Ike Leggett, and Barbara Mikulski, with the caption “We all agree that Vanessa Atterbeary is the one.”
So have these leading Democrats endorsed Atterbeary, as her mailing implies?
Hardly. Van Hollen and Leggett have endorsed the District 18 Slate of Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez, and Jeff Waldstreicher. So has Valerie Ervin, whose photo also appears on Atterbeary’s flier.
I happen to be paying sufficient attention to this campaign to know this. But I suspect that most voters receiving Atterbeary’s flier will conclude that the officials pictured in it have endorsed her.
As a District 18 voter, I am conducting an extended job interview for who is going to represent me in Annapolis for the next four years. Endorsements from people and organizations I trust are important factors in my research.
So when one of the job applicants seems to be trying to mislead me, I ask myself: What kind of person is this? Can I trust anything she says? And what must she think of me to send me something like this?
Disclosure: Paul Gordon hosted a fundraiser for the District 18 Democratic Team earlier this summer.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Atter-Busted!
District 18 Delegate candidate Vanessa Atterbeary has resumed her placement of illegal campaign signs all over the district, even after getting a warning from the Town of Kensington. But her pervasive abuses have finally forced law enforcement to crack down.
First, here’s a brief tour of just a few of the illegal signs. Note that candidates are forbidden to erect signs on State Highway Administration (SHA) right of way, including medians.
Veirs Mill median at Havard.
Veirs Mill, east median at Norris.
East-West Highway, east of Grubb Road, south median.
Connecticut Avenue, southbound, Beltway exit to Virginia, two signs. This is a sharp curve and drivers should not be distracted here.
Sligo Creek Parkway at University Boulevard, two signs. These signs are a big problem since they are on county-owned property in Sligo Creek Park.
A Park Police officer arrived at the scene and removed them. You know a candidate is doing something illegal if he or she is forcing the police to act!
Campaigns sometimes make mistakes with signs, especially when they are placed by over-enthusiastic and under-educated interns. But there have been so many illegal Vanessa Atterbeary signs that they point to a deliberate strategy of placing them. After all, if the consequences are slight and the benefit – name recognition for an unknown challenger – is substantial, why not litter the district? If Atterbeary is allowed to get away with this, other candidates will eventually follow suit and MoCo will go the way of Prince George’s County.
To paraphrase Atterbeary’s campaign slogan: Now is the Time… to OBEY THE LAW.
Disclosure: the author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Town of Kensington Warns Atterbeary on Illegal Signs
The Town of Kensington's Code Enforcement Officer sent the following email to Vanessa Atterbeary's campaign for Delegate about its use of illegally-placed signs.
From: Louise Hamilton [mailto:louise.hamilton@tok.md.gov]Disclosure: The author of this blog post is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 3:08 PM
To: 'vanessa@electvanessaatterbeary.com'
Cc: 'Mayor Peter Fosselman'
Subject: campaign signs
To: Vanessa Atterbeary
Please be advised it is unlawful to display or post any sign in a public right of way under the town of Kensington jurisdiction. I have enclosed a copy of Town of Kensington map showing the Town’s boundaries.
Thank you for your cooperation, please feel free to call or email if you have any questions.
Louise Hamilton
Code Enforcement Officer
Town of Kensington
301.949.2424
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
More Law Breaking by Atterbeary Campaign
Here's another illegal Vanessa Atterbeary sign, this one at the corner of Forest Glen Road and Sligo Creek Parkway.
According to the county, political signs in the public right-of-way on a county road must have a permit, must be temporary and must be at least 100 feet away from an intersection. This is part of a pattern of behavior by this campaign that is unlike the behavior of any other campaign in the county.
And the kicker is that this sign is only a few blocks away from the candidate's home.
Disclosure: The author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Atterbeary Breaks Campaign Rules – Twice
District 18 Delegate candidate Vanessa Atterbeary has broken two campaign rules in less than a month. She is off to a fast start – at least when it comes to illegal campaigning!
Right at the end of April, Atterbeary sent this robocall to District 18 voters:Vanessa Atterbeary, candidate for Maryland House of Delegates, District 18. This week, I announced my candidacy because District 18 needs a strong advocate for women, children and family priorities. For a real voice, vote for me, Vanessa Atterbeary. Now is the time. Thank you, and remember to vote for Vanessa Atterbeary for District 18 and for Montgomery County.
Section 1-101 of Maryland’s election code defines campaign materials as “any material that… relates to a candidate” and includes “an oral commercial campaign advertisement,” in other words, robocalls. Section 13-401 requires all campaign materials to include authority lines listing the name of the campaign finance entity and the name and address of the campaign treasurer. The address may be omitted if it is on file with the State Board of Elections or if the material is too small to include it, but the name of the treasurer must always be stated.
We have caught many violations of the authority line rule over the history of our blog, and now Atterbeary joins the likes of Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17), Robin Ficker, the Parents Coalition, Help Save Maryland and various anonymous attack dogs. (Ficker has already endorsed Atterbeary.)
But that is not all. Atterbeary’s campaign has also placed countless illegal campaign signs around the district. State Highway Administration regulations state that political signs “may not be placed in the median or within SHA right-of-way, just as other signs are prohibited.” County regulations also prohibit signs in medians on county roads and mandate their placement at least 100 feet from intersections if they are in the public right-of-way.
Here are a few examples of these illegal signs.
There have been many others placed on the Connecticut Avenue median, at bus stops, at the Connecticut-University intersection and even at the Connecticut-Beltway interchange. At one point, Atterbeary’s illegal signs outnumbered all the legal campaign signs in the district!
Everyone is entitled to run for office, but no one is entitled to break the law. The Atterbeary campaign should apologize to the citizens of District 18 and run a legally compliant race from this moment forward.
Disclosure: The author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Vanessa Atterbeary Announces District 18 Delegate Kickoff
Vanessa Atterbeary is kicking off her campaign for Delegate in District 18 on April 27. Atterbeary is a member of the Montgomery County Commission for Women. Her father, Knowlton Atterbeary, is a nationally-recognized minority business owner and has been a major supporter of President Obama and the Democratic Party. We reprint Vanessa Atterbeary's flyer below.
