Two San Juan Bautista residents have claimed responsibility for
the
”
Vote No on Turturici
”
sign posted for two weeks along San Juan Road entering Hollister
that had prompted claims how the undersheriff’s opponent Darren
Thompson was behind it.
Two San Juan Bautista residents have claimed responsibility for the “Vote No on Turturici” sign posted for two weeks along San Juan Road entering Hollister that had prompted claims how the undersheriff’s opponent Darren Thompson was behind it.
Jennifer Roybal and father Pete Roybal acknowledged they were responsible for the sign, which included the notation under the headline, “Paid for by the friends of innocent victims of the sheriff’s department.” The advertisement first went up Sept. 30 and since has been replaced by one for a San Juan Bautista restaurant.
Roybal publicly acknowledged her involvement a week ago during a forum in San Juan Bautista while asking questions of Pat Turturici, the undersheriff facing Thompson, a Watsonville police lieutenant, in the race on the Nov. 2 ballot. Roybal this week told the Free Lance she manages that billboard and about 100 others in the state. Both she and her father said she designed the advertisement and he paid for it.
The billboard space is rented out by a San Francisco business, while Roybal said she manages it for prospective rentals.
The sign has been a point of controversy during the sheriff’s race, largely due to questions over who was behind it, whether a legal disclosure should have been made, and claims from Turturici’s camp that Thompson was involved.
“I paid for the billboard, and she designed it,” Pete Roybal said, referring to his daughter.
He said the cost was “well under” $1,000 – the figure that would require him to file a disclosure statement with the state.
Turturici’s campaign last week sent a flier to San Benito County residents alleging that Thompson and his campaign were responsible for the billboard and had launched a “negative smear campaign.”
Turturici has not responded to interview requests on the matter, including a phone message left today. His campaign consultant, Rick Rivas, last week called the billboard “illegal campaign activity” and said that Thompson and his campaign supporters “work in collaboration” with those responsible for the billboard.
In Turturici’s flier, it reads: “Recently, my opponent and his supporters have begun a negative smear campaign against me and my family. They posted negative campaign billboards that cost thousands of dollars each. The people who funded these attacks have refused to disclose who they are – which is illegal and shows a blatant disregard for the law.”
Thompson talked about the Roybals’ acknowledgment and said there are people in the county who support him because they dislike Turturici – and how the Roybals fall into that category. Due to that, he said, he accepted no donations or offers to assist his campaign from them.
“I’ve accepted no contributions from anybody who is anti-Turturici because I’m sticking to my pro-Thompson campaign,” he said.
Thompson called the billboard “probably the most stressful and negative thing in my campaign” and said he is trying to “wash myself of that.” He said he approached Turturici at the county fair the day after the billboard went up.
“I went to him and pled with him to understand I wasn’t behind the sign,” Thompson said. “He acknowledged the Roybals were behind the sign. He knew I wasn’t involved. He acknowledged he had some type of issue with the Roybals.”
