“Misleading attacks have no place in Democratic politics – I urge Diane Papan to take down the misleading attacks and focus on an issue-driven campaign.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2022
Contact:
Natalie LeBlanc, nleblanc@thepivot.com
Democrat Giselle Hale calls on Diane Papan to take down misleading attacks, disavow illegal website
“Misleading attacks have no place in Democratic politics – I urge Diane Papan to take down the misleading attacks and focus on an issue-driven campaign.”
REDWOOD CITY, CA – Redwood City Mayor Democrat Giselle Hale called on Diane Papan to take down her misleading attacks this morning after an illegal website surfaced making attacks similar to those in Papan’s latest attack ads.
“So many of us are incredibly disappointed by this style of attack. It has no place in our community,” said Lorri Holzberg, President of Peninsula Democrat Coalition, Executive Board Member of the Jewish Democratic Club of Silicon Valley and Board Member of Silicon Valley Democratic Club. “I have known and worked alongside Giselle for years – there is no stronger Democrat, no fiercer advocate for families, no one I am more confident will reflect our shared Democratic values in Sacramento.”
Papan’s ad erroneously links Hale to Donald Trump, repeating claims and using images made on an illegal website that lacks a disclaimer. Both the website and Papan’s are hosted on the same server, and administered by the same individual who designed both this misleading and illegal website, and Papan’s own campaign website.
The illegal website and misleading attack comes in the closing days of the election, leaving local Democrats outraged.
“It seems Papan will do whatever it takes to get elected. First, she takes thousands from Future PAC, the dark money-fueled group who has essentially laundered their contributions from Big Oil and other conservative interests through another PAC to hide their origins. And she denied taking that money. Now Papan launches this baseless scare tactic on Giselle, who has dedicated her career to election Democrats and supporting progressive values,” said Fred Ross, Jr., a longtime regional organizer and progressive advocate. “The irony is that this is a page out of the MAGA playbook and makes me wonder why Papan isn’t focused on her own record.”
For her part, Hale is staying focused on just that: her own record.
“In 2017, the day before Trump’s inauguration, I rallied the resistance to him and his brand of politics here in Silicon Valley. Before and since, I have been a passionate Democrat focused on walking the talk and actually delivering for our community – from working for the Obama campaign, to being a national spokesperson on paid family leave, to my work today: building affordable housing in our community, keeping hundreds of childcare facilities open in San Mateo County, actively standing up for abortion clinic providers and patients, and delivering meaningful mental health care in our community,” Hale said.
“Our community has real needs. They deserve leaders who are focused on taking action on those needs and who are delivering for us. That’s what I’ve been focused on my entire career,” Hale continued.
These negative ads by the Papan campaign come on the heels of hundreds of thousands in outside spending both on behalf of Papan and against Hale funded by conservative interest groups, including PG&E, Chevron and Valero. James Ruigomez, whose son, Joey, was injured in the 2010 San Bruno explosion expressed frustration at the tone the Assembly race has taken.
“Diane Papan accepted contributions from a Super PAC sponsored by PG&E and Chevron. These companies have put our communities at risk time and time again. They don’t share our values, they shouldn’t be buying our representative,” Ruigomez said.
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Hale lives in Redwood City with her husband Brian and their two daughters. Her campaign for Assembly has been supported by Democrats and progressive leaders throughout our community, including Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, the California Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus, California Teachers Association, Peninsula Young Democrats, California Environmental Voters, the Jewish Democratic Club of Silicon Valley, National Union of Healthcare Workers and more.
You can visit www.GiselleHale.com to learn more about her.
Assembly District 21, as drawn by the California Citizen Redistricting Commission, is made up of Eastern San Mateo County. It includes the cities of Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Millbrae, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo and portions of South San Francisco. It is currently represented by Assemblymembers Kevin Mullin and Marc Berman.
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