Questions continue to surround the large
”
Vote No on Turturici
”
sign along San Juan Road because the responsible party has yet
to officially file with the state.
Questions continue to surround the large “Vote No on Turturici” sign along San Juan Road because the responsible party has yet to officially file with the state.
Whoever posted the sign entering Hollister had 10 days from the first day to file with the California Secretary of State’s Office. Those involved would be in violation of election laws only if the price tag exceeded $1,000 and they do not register with the secretary of state, according to the California Fair and Political Practices Commission. The sign was installed sometime around Sept. 29.
Undersheriff Pat Turturici’s campaign responded by calling it “illegal,” while Watsonville police Lt. Darren Thompson stressed his campaign had nothing to do with it.
The white billboard, located on San Juan Road between Hollister and San Juan Bautista, states “Vote No on Turturici” with a circled red and crossed out “Turturici.” Underneath the bold letters it states that “Victims of the San Benito Sheriff’s Office” funded the billboard.
According to the FPPC, any group that tries to persuade people to vote one way or another on any candidate or issue must register with the secretary of state.
“Any individual or group who spends more than $1,000 or more advocating the election or defeat for a candidate or ballot measure is required to file all the campaign finance disclosure statements,” FPPC spokesman Roman Porter said.
If the group spent more than $1,000 on the billboard, it would have 10 days to file the necessary paperwork.
The state office had yet to receive any documentation from the billboard as of Monday, while county offices were closed Monday.
County Elections Official Joe Paul Gonzalez confirmed late last week that he had yet to see any information regarding the origins of the billboard, he said. If he did discover who was responsible, he would tell them to file with the secretary of state.
“We don’t have any knowledge of who paid for the sign,” he said
Gonzalez also wasn’t sure if the sign needed to stay within the maximum of 32 square feet that other political signs must follow, he said.
“That is a good questions – there are multiple questions we have regarding the sign,” he said.
As for the origins of the sign, Turturici’s competitor for the sheriff’s office, Thompson, doesn’t know where it came from, he said.
“One or two people asked if it had anything to do with my campaign. I just wanted to be clear that my campaign has nothing to do with that sign,” he said. “I would hope that the responsible party would want to come out and explain that to the public.”
Turturici did not return phone calls before press time. His campaign adviser, Rick Rivas, said the undersheriff declined to comment and had no idea who put it up.
“Pat’s not going to comment on illegal campaign activity,” Rivas said.
The billboard space is rented out by San Francisco based ADCO Outdoor Adverting. A call to its office was not returned before press time.
