Fresno election mailer called ‘racist’ falsely depicts Black politician in jail clothes
A political mailer that criticizes a candidate up for re-election on the Fresno-area community college district board has been denounced as racist over objections from the man behind the campaign material.
The candidate targeted by the mailer, Eric Payne, is running to keep his Area 2 seat on the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees against challengers Nasreen Johnson and Sevag Tateosian.
The mailer points to Fair Political Practice Commission fines and other controversies Payne faced before his 2016 re-election to the board. It also depicts Payne, who is Black, in what he and others say is a doctored photo that falsely shows Payne wearing a jailhouse jumpsuit.
On top of that, the facial and other hair in the image are not his own, he said.
“I felt like it was racist. Our community is better than this to go so low,” he said. “I continue to go forward and continue to elevate our students.”
The mailers were designed and paid for by Common Sense Information, a nonprofit registered to Tal Cloud. He brushed off the accusations of racism.
“I find it humorous at best,” he said. “The guy has all kinds of problems in his background. Because I’m a white guy, it’s racist?”
Cloud declined to answer who designed the mailers and would not say if he decided to depict Payne, a Black man, in an orange shirt like a jail inmate.
“I wouldn’t be sending (mailers) if he wasn’t breaking all these rules,” Cloud said. “He’s not fit for public office.”
Cloud is a longtime local Republican political consultant. He operates a paper recycling business called Paper Pulp and Film and ran an unsuccessful campaign for a congressional seat in 1992.
Analysis
Despite the images in the doctored photo, most of the claims made about Payne in the mailer are accurate.
At least one is misleading, according to Payne.
Payne has faced Fair Political Practice Commission fines and other violations during his tenure, which the mailer also notes. The FPPC violations add up to $54,000 in fines.
First elected to the board of trustees in 2012, Payne’s alleged violations stem from his 2016 re-election campaign.
The FPPC accused Payne of multiple violations, including using campaign funds to buy clothing, failing to timely file and disclose sources of income and business positions, and failing to timely file the Statement of Intention to be a Candidate before launching his re-election bid.
FPPC investigators also looked into his campaign committee, of which Payne is treasurer. The FPPC found several alleged violations related to failing to timely file campaign statements and expenditure reports. The FPPC said Payne’s committee didn’t have supporting records for contributions received and expenditures made.
Payne has not paid any of the fines, according to FPPC spokesperson Jay Wierenga. “For the record, he has not contacted us at all regarding the default decision. Not at all,” Wierenga said. “He has not contacted us at all regarding the fine and any payments. We have not received anything.”
Payne declined any comment on the FPPC violations but did not deny them. He did say the mailer’s claim that he was arrested for using a disability placard was not accurate, saying he was given a citation.
The SCCCD board reprimanded him in 2015 for allegedly using the disability placard for parking, plagiarizing a Fresno Bee column, and other accusations.
One opponent, teachers union condemn mailer
The mailer was condemned by the State Center Federation of Teachers, according to President Keith Ford.
“We would like to condemn the material,” he said. “They’re obviously racist, and they did not come from us.”
He said he was disappointed to see mudslinging in the campaign rather than a debate over philosophy.
The union has endorsed an opponent of Payne’s, Nasreen Johnson, but felt the mailers needed condemnation, Ford said.
“We made the decision (to endorse Johnson) civilly, and we have no ill will against Payne,” he said.
Johnson also said the mailer was “just unnecessary” and takes away from real issues students face, including the privatization of the bookstore at Fresno City College that led to widespread complaints from students and professors.
“While Eric Payne has issues, I felt like the flier overstepped what’s appropriate,” she said. “We should campaign on facts, not people’s biases.”
The third hopeful for the Area 2 seat, Sevag Tateosian, said he didn’t notice any racial overtones in the mailer before reading its bullet points and throwing it away.
“I’m looking at, does this flier portray an image of truth? Is it true?” he said. “I think people are frustrated with bad politicians.”
Area 2 covers parts of Fresno’s western, central, and southwestern edges and extends into Fresno County, largely south of the San Joaquin River and west of Highway 99.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 7:14 AM.
