Protestors rallied in front of the downtown Hollister offices of local digital news outlet Benitolink on July 25, claiming that the publication is unfairly targeting their political group through its platform for “fact checking” mailers distributed by their political group.
Around 20 supporters of the group Hollister Guardians gathered in front of 615 San Benito St., setting up an amplified sound system as well as using a bullhorn to chant slogans accusing Benitolink of “supporting developers” and being a “mouthpiece” for Hollister Mayor Mia Casey.
In response to the protest, Benitolink leadership defended the outlet’s content as unbiased, and said the news site’s editorial team has not singled out Hollister Guardians as they have “fact checked” other local political groups.
According to its website, Hollister Guardians “is a local, grassroots group whose 501c(3) fiscal sponsor is Ecologistics, an environmental justice leader in the Central Coast.” Hollister Guardians Action is an affiliated group registered with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) as a general purpose recipient committee.
Ecologistics is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit based in San Luis Obispo County that “creates strategies, tools and templates for organizations that support environmental and economic sustainability, and social justice,” according to its website.
The group bills itself as the “Voice of the Westside” of Hollister, and since its founding in 2023, members have attended numerous Hollister City Council meetings to advocate for issues it supports. The organization opposed the expansion of the city’s sewer services to San Juan Oaks, and residents close to the wastewater treatment plant have complained of a persistent foul odor coming from the plant.
In November 2023, Hollister Guardians began circulating political mailers accusing members of the Hollister City Council — including Hollister Mayor Mia Casey — of making infrastructure decisions favoring real estate developers.
These allegations stem from Casey’s 2022 mayoral campaign, which received contributions from individuals from the Anderson family—a residential developer—and contributions from proponents of the Lee Subdivision. According to campaign finance records, Casey returned almost $500 worth of contributions by the Anderson family and $750 from the Lee family after her 2022 victory.
In the first mailer, titled, “Where Did Our Money Go?” Hollister Guardians accused Casey and a majority of the city council of giving the developers of San Juan Oaks an undeserved $5 million discount in sewer impact fees, among other claims.
Hollister Guardians co-director Bella Rosales said in a July 30 email to the Free Lance that they sent each of the four mailers to all households within the 95023 postal code. According to the Census Reporter website, 12,220 households are in that postal code.
Rosales declined to state how the mailers were funded because she fears public disclosure of their finances could lead to “harassment.”
In January 2024, BenitoLink published the first in what would become a series of “Fact Check” articles penned by its editorial team in response to the mailers, saying they were “devoted to identifying false and misleading claims, and providing context to statements made in local political fliers and other media ahead of the 2024 elections.”
The first piece from Jan. 15 addresses the claims made on the “Where Did Our Money Go?” mailer. It quotes Hollister City Manager David Mirrione as saying that a 47.5% discount on sewer impact fees — which is reserved for developments building housing for seniors — was not part of the final agreement between the city and San Juan Oaks.
Hollister Guardians have sent out three additional mailers since November 2023, the majority of which repeat their opposition to expanded sewer services as well as corruption accusations. BenitoLink has run “Fact Check” articles on each of them, sometimes “giving context” to the allegations.
But the latest mailer from Hollister Guardians, titled “Silencing Their Critics,” takes aim directly at the publication, and singles out reporter Robert Eliason for his alleged ties to Casey.
The flier shows screenshots of text messages between Eliason and Casey discussing a potential photography assignment. Eliason shows hesitation in photographing a political event, telling Casey he would rather “not interfere in Hollister politics.”
The mailer also claims that Casey uses the outlet to promote her political agenda.
BenitoLink published its latest “Fact Check” in response to the June 2024 mailer, defending Eliason’s right to engage in the political process, but clarifying that he “does not allow his photographs to be used by political candidates and did not contribute writing, photography, or money to Casey’s mayoral campaign.”
“Nobody ‘uses’ BenitoLink. BenitoLink was founded in 2012 as an independent and community-responsive nonprofit news organization,” the article went on to say.
Casey responded to the allegations in an interview with the Free Lance, saying it’s “a shame” that attention is being given to what she characterizes as a political attack group.
“It’s frustrating because it seems like a game that’s being played. Anyone who doesn’t support their point of view is ‘in the pocket of developers’, or in this case, now, suddenly I have all this power to run BenitoLink, an organization that’s had a stellar record for over a decade,” Casey said in a July 29 phone interview.
At the July 25 protest, Rosales said that they were there to expose “the biased journalism” of BenitoLink and the “corruption” of the city council to the community.
“I would like to see the harassment stop, obviously,” Rosales told the Free Lance at the rally. “We would like to inform the public about what’s going on without being called liars and we would just like people to be able to speak freely without the threat of being reported to different organizations so people won’t be afraid to tell the truth.”
The group also accuses Jon Casey — Mayor Mia Casey’s husband — of harassment. The Free Lance obtained a copy of a letter Jon sent to Ecologistics in which he used BenitoLink’s “Fact Check” articles to put into question the veracity of Hollister Guardian’s mailers, saying they are “lacking in fact, common sense, and sought to mislead the public in many instances.”
“I would respectfully request that you look at this organization and determine if it (sic) really worthy of your sponsorship and support, especially given their political leanings, which anyone with a 501(c)3 knows is not something you want brought to the attention of the IRS,” concluded the letter.
Jon Casey could not immediately be reached for comment.
BenitoLink has upheld its journalism to both the media and its detractors.
At the July 25 rally, BenitoLink Executive Director Leslie David came out to engage with the protestors and said she was “delighted” that they were there to express their concerns.
She defended the “Fact Check” articles, saying there is no bias in their reporting.
“I think when we did the ‘Fact Check’, the reason there were five (BenitoLink staff) people involved in it is to make sure that (bias) didn’t happen,” David told the Free Lance in a July 26 follow-up call.
Eliason told the Free Lance that his personal views have not affected the “Fact Checks” and reiterated that they were a collaborative effort by design to mitigate any bias. His involvement with Mia Casey, Eliason said, amounted to him forwarding photographs he took of a 2020 rally in support of the Betabel project.
“It is significant that [Hollister Guardians] have never disputed any of BenitoLink’s findings, never asked for any corrections, and never rebutted any of BenitoLink’s conclusions, even when challenged to do so, as our managing editor, Leslie David, did during that demonstration. They chant ‘fake news’ but have yet to identify what is fake about it,” Eliason said in an email on July 30.
Rosales also alleged that race was a factor in the publication’s scrutiny of their mailers. Hollister Guardians is Latino-led and some of its members are monolingual Spanish speakers.
“We’ve noticed that the attacks and the harassment of being called liars—we feel that that’s only been directed towards us. We haven’t really seen any other grassroots groups be treated the same way,” Rosales said in a July 26 phone interview.
David responded to that allegation saying that her organization has done “Fact Checks” on other local groups, including environmental advocates Protect San Benito. A May 31 “Fact Check” references the group as being associated with Hollister Guardians.
A search for “Fact Check” articles on BenitoLink’s website only produces hits for the four articles related to Hollister Guardians.
“We have a very culturally, racially mixed newsroom. So, I think that’s an illogical thing to say. And I think if you recognize that we did do one on Protect San Benito, and we would do future ones based on community response to fliers people are getting that they feel are either confusing or questionable. We would do it on any flier, if we got that kind of community feedback and request to do a fact check on them,” David said in a phone interview on July 26.
How about the Freelance give us some fact check on the hit pieces? I’m curious and would love to see your response for all their unsubstantiated claims. What say ye Free Lance? Maybe you did and I missed it?