Feinstein Sounds Off On Deceptive Mailer

Nov. 3 - KGO (KGO) -- By strict definition, it may or may not be a dirty trick, but would anyone argue it's a trick to mail people a flyer called "a Voter Information Guide for Democrats"? And that most Democrats don't want? It's coming from a San Fernando Valley consulting firm. Some Democrats are livid.

The mailer was sent to more than four million households -- and today, the man behind the so-called Voter Information Guide denies he simply takes the position of whoever pays him.

Senator Dianne Feinstein sounded off today over a mailer that prominently displays her picture. It's billed as a voter information guide for Democrats, despite the fact that it recommends voting no on some issues that Feinstein and the Democratic Party support, including Proposition 86, the tobacco tax, and Proposition 87, the oil tax.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D) California: "I just want to say, I know nothing of this. I was not consulted about it, I was not asked about my endorsement."

The company behind the mailer is Larry Levine & Associates, based in Sherman Oaks. Larry Levine heads the firm and dismisses critics who call the guide misleading.

In a phone interview, Levine said, "I think those people ignore the fact that one thing that is wonderful about being a Democrat is we can disagree. We don't have to all think alike, like Republicans."

Levine is a self-described lifelong Democrat and says the mailer reflects his personal opinion based on years of experience. Not, he says, a result of the amount of money he received from individual campaigns.

But the political watchdog group, Common Cause, doubts that. Especially since campaign finance records show Levine collected $300,000 dollars from oil companies campaigning against Prop. 87 and $75,000 dollars from tobacco companies opposing the cigarette tax.

Ned Wigglesworth, Common Cause: "Party affiliation, political philosophy, public interest, doesn't matter. All have been sold down into making a quick buck."

No campaign laws appear to be broken. The fine print disavows any link to a party organization. Even so, Senator Feinstein says enough is enough.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "I think this is just one good indication that we really need to take a look and see if we need to strengthen federal law to prevent this kind of thing from happening."

And that's why Common Cause says it's crucial that you read the fine print on any election material. Many are misleading, but they keep their mailers legal with asterisks and disclaimers.

Group Behind The Mailer

Want to learn more about the group behind this mailer? We've compiled step-by-step instructions of how to find information on this group or any other behind any of the other ads and mailers you're seeing.

Start by going to the California Secretary of State's Web site: www.ss.ca.gov. On the front page of click on Campaign Finance. From there, click on Committees, Parties & Major Donors. Under "Type" select Slate Mailers. There you'll find a list of all the official names of committees, political parties, or major donors as registered with the Secretary of State. Scroll down to Voter Information Guide (listed in alphabetical order) for information specific to this group.

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