Third District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joan Hartmann on Tuesday accused her March 3 primary challenger, Bruce Porter, of manufacturing fake news and distorting her record for his political gain.
Hartmann held an afternoon press conference at the Sperling Preserve in Goleta, surrounded by about 30 of her supporters.
She blasted Porter’s recent television and mail advertisements, accusing him of lying about her record and inflating his own.
“The distortions and outright lies coming from the Bruce Porter campaign are having a gross effect on our community,” Hartmann said. “Third District voters deserve to know the facts behind Bruce Porter’s dark and deceptive campaign. It’s disrespectful and exploitive to distort my record for his own political gain.”
Hartmann took exception to the fact that Porter has called himself an “independent,” even though he was a registered Republican until February 2018. A separate mailer calls her a “Green New Deal Extremist,” and that it’s a “radical” plan that will steal “$72,000 from every Santa Barbara County family.”
A different ad claims that Hartmann took part in “shady deals” that hurt local businesses and workers.
“Joan Hartmann is thanking union bosses for the $228,000 in campaign donations they gave her by trying to give them an exclusive deal for county government contracts,” one of Porter’s ads states.
Hartmann also accused Porter of portraying himself as an environmental candidate to voters in Isla Vista.
Bill Cirone, retired superintendent of Santa Barbara County Schools, defended Hartmann at the press conference.
“Wave that integrity sign,” Cirone said to a Hartmann supporter as he took the microphone. “It’s important.”
Cirone, a Solvang resident, said campaigns have become mean-spirited. They distort public records and “they manufacture fake news.”
He said Hartmann has stayed true to her ideals and principles.
“Do we want someone who is playing by the so-called new rules?” Cirone asked of Porter. “Letting his campaign use false attack mailers, including distorting the facts, creating fake news. Isn’t this what we abhor in today’s politics?”
Goleta councilmen Kyle Richards, James Kyriaco, Stuart Kasdin and Mayor Paula Perotte attended the event. Gail Teton-Landis, chair of the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, also attended the press conference.
Katie Davis, chair of the Santa Barbara chapter of the Sierra Club, defended Hartmann and blasted Porter for his connection to the oil industry.
“The oil industry wants to tilt the balance of power toward their industry in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,” Davis said. “Porter is the oil-backed candidate.”
She said the county Board of Supervisors cannot afford to let Hartmann’s seat shift to a conservative.
“The stakes are incredibly high, and we cannot let oil interests run our county, now, of all times,” Davis said. “We really must re-elect Supervisor Joan Hartmann.”
Porter told Noozhawk that Hartmann is guilty of a “last-minute attempt to gain control of the spotlight.”
“I continue to run a fact-based campaign, even if those truths aren’t pretty or appealing to my opponent and her supporters,” Porter said.
Porter said his campaign sourced its claims from coverage by “news organizations.”
He said Hartmann touts herself as a proponent of a green new deal, a landmark shift in environmental policy.
He said Vista de las Cruces School near Gaviota lost roughly half of its funding after the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
“Since Supervisor Hartmann took office in 2017, she has neglected to find a solution separate from oil production that would help the struggling school district,” Porter said. “In the absence of a solution, the school eliminated most of its extracurricular activities, cut its preschool program, combined grade levels and eliminated both teaching and classified positions.
“Now the district is sending some students to Jonata Middle School in Buellton and is exploring a possible merger. How is that fair or just?”
Hartmann at the press conference said the Board of Supervisors doesn’t oversee or negotiate on behalf of schools and has nothing to do with school funding.
Hartmann said she is proud of her record and that she serves with integrity, honesty and care for the people of Santa Barbara County.
“We have run our campaign guided by the same principles, unlike the Porter campaign, which seems to be based primarily on lies and misrepresentations,” Hartmann said. “What people tell me is they do not want the lies and fake news that predominates at the national level to seep down to our county and local politics.
“Bruce Porter has sullied our public life. Character matters. Truth matters and trust matters.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
