I have often written of the misdeeds of Lompoc City Council members based on their public record. Politicians need to be held accountable for their actions and publicizing those occurrences is one way of accomplishing that.
But when an elected official is publicly smeared by an individual or group of individuals by using fake “facts,” then I feel it’s equally important to hold them accountable as well.
One local resident Martin Bender, who claims in a blog post to have “a juris doctorate and have worked for both private practice law firms and for the County of Santa Barbara Superior Court” is seriously abusing his First Amendment rights by falsely accusing Councilwoman Gilda Cordova of wrongdoing in a memo to the city attorney back in February and a Facebook posting on March 2.
In an apparent effort to oust Councilwoman Cordova from office Bender alleged that she doesn’t live in the council district she serves, that she used her position to obtain contracts, and that she committed bank and tax fraud. If true they would be serious ethical breaches.
During the March 7 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Cordova vehemently denied these allegations and provided ample evidence to support her denial.
To the first allegation, she has lived and still lives at her current residence for 13 years in the First Council District. To the second, she has never misused her City Council position. She doesn’t need to, she is and has been a very successful businessperson since long before her tenure as a City Council member.
To the third and perhaps most serious allegation that she committed bank and tax fraud, this claim is because she purchased some property in the unincorporated area near Lompoc that she uses as a business address and claimed a homeowner’s tax credit.
The Santa Barbara County Clerk Recorder says that since May 2022 “this property is no longer receiving a Homeowner’s Exemption.” Thus, there is no tax fraud.
Even though Bender is fully aware his allegations are inaccurate, he persists in harassing Councilwoman Cordova.
On March 11 he posted the following: “at face value there was prima facie evidence of a violation of a city ordinance by a sitting city council member” even after admitting “Ms. Cordova has made several posts and videos on her campaign social media page regarding the issues I raised.”
In addition, Bender alleges “that Ms. Cordova is the president of Visit Lompoc, LLC (dba Explore Lompoc) which I understand has a 10-year contract with the city of Lompoc that’s potentially worth millions of dollars and is overseen by the city council.”
Clearly, he didn’t do his homework. Explore Lompoc derives its funding from a tourism assessment requested by the hotel owners of Lompoc and its Board of Directors is chosen by a majority of member organizations.
The City Council approved the Lompoc Tourism Improvement District on Dec. 13, 2013, and manages the collection and distribution of assessments back to Explore Lompoc every year; Annual Reports are provided to the City Council and no General Fund money is involved with the funding of this district since it is visitors who pay the assessment.
It seems plausible to me that there is a concerted effort to try to unseat Councilwoman Cordova; why and just who is paying for Bender to continue hounding Councilwoman Cordova remains a mystery, but it’s doubtful he is exerting this much effort for free.
Even though he has the right to say almost anything he wants to on an internet site, smearing someone with strong ethical standards like Gilda Cordova is at least misogynistic and at most may constitute gender/ethnic discrimination.
March 11: https://lompoctoday.com/mr-bender-reply-to-gilda-cordova-statement-complaint/?fbclid=IwAR1ZiO0cA3yNBW0F00iu-r8I0MynXB7_zlwiTojZq6aPxbUXGdlj29uTl_o
March 2: https://lompoctoday.com/local-city-council-member-banking-fraud-or-tax-evasion/
Lompoc Tourism Improvement District: https://www.cityoflompoc.com/Home/ShowDocument?id=13156
