SQUIDFRY 11.15.18: Mail Man

MAIL MAN… Squid is breathing a little easier with the election now passed – except for the smoky air. In the end, not much surprised Squid in the local election results this year, but one thing that did was that the negative campaign mailers targeting Seaside Councilmember Jason Campbell and Monterey Peninsula Water Management District board candidate George Rileyappeared to have no measurable effect – both candidates won handily.

Perhaps it was because the mailers verged on the absurd: One mailer targeting Campbell, a supporter of Measure J (which compels MPWMD to proceed toward a buyout of Cal Am, and which passed) stated that he – as a Seaside city councilmember – might put our water supply at risk. Those mailers were paid for by the National Association of Realtors, the local arm of which is the Monterey County Association of Realtors.

Turns out Scott Dick, MCAR’s government affairs director, is one of seven people who have applied to be appointed to the board MPWMD to fill a seat vacated by retiring board memberBob Brower. That means Dick might end up sitting on the board alongside Riley, whom his organization tried to defeat. Dick says he did not write the mailers, though he does concede there was local input.

It seems to Squid like a case of, if you can’t beat ‘em with slimy campaign mailers, join ’em.

OFF THE HORSE… While Squid’s loyalties to the mammal kingdom lie first and foremost with Squid’s English bulldog, Rosco P. Coltrane, Squid has a soft spot for horses. So Squid understands the appeal of a nonprofit meant to use horses as therapy for veterans, as two Carmel-based nonprofits – Wounded Warrior Support Group and Central Coast Equine Rescue and Retirement – claimed to do.

Only they didn’t: “Instead, virtually all of the money that donors gave to help injured veterans was used by members of the Gregory family for personal expenses, hobbies and for their for-profit business.” That’s according to a 2017 lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra against Matthew G. Gregory, his wife Danella Gregory, and children Matthew J. Gregory and Gina Gregory. A jury on Nov. 9 found the defendants guilty, and that they “failed to act with utmost good faith in the best interest of WWSG and CCERR, a total of 3,430 times.” The total judgement against them: $8.8 million. Enough to finance a real nonprofit, rather than funding a personal showhorse hobby – oh, and buying lingerie as thank-you gifts for volunteers.

Meanwhile, the Gregory family sued the Weekly alleging defamation based on a story that ran in 2017 about the AG’s lawsuit. The Weekly won in that case, and is awaiting a determination on attorney’s fees – though Squid’s not holding Squid’s breath there will be anything left.