(This story has been updated with additional information.)
A judge has denied a petition from a Ventura County supervisor candidate running in the June primary who sought changes to a competitor’s statement in the voter guide.
Mark Perryman, one of three vying to represent the county’s 2nd District, asked the court to remove statements he alleged were false, misleading or inflated about candidate Ashley Orozco.
Orozco, however, said the information was accurate, and that Perryman had relied on outdated and incorrect information.
Perryman and Orozco are facing incumbent Jeff Gorell, who was elected to the board in 2022. District 2 includes parts of Camarillo and Thousand Oaks, as well as Somis, Santa Rosa Valley and Oak Park areas.
During a March 27 hearing, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charmaine Buehner denied the petition in its entirety. Buehner told attorneys and their clients that the court had spent significant time looking at the issues.
But the petition failed to present evidence that would lead the court to conclude, to a clear and convincing standard, that there were false or misleading statements, she said.
The county elections division mails the guide, which includes a sample ballot, information about voting and candidate statements, to registered voters. The paid statements are optional. They are printed as submitted by the candidate, officials said.
County elections officials requested the judge make the decision at the March 27 hearing, saying they were days from a deadline to finalize the documents. The elections division took no position on the merits or arguments made by any party involved, according to a brief from the county counsel’s office.
The election chief’s “sole interest in this action is in having the court issue its ruling in time for her to submit the voter information guide, sample ballot, and other election materials to the printer,” the attorney wrote.
What were the issues in the case?
Perryman, a government management consultant, challenged parts of Orozco’s statements, including her description of her occupation, which he said was the first time she had used the term “executive” in filings. She had previously called herself a manager.
He also said Orozco’s campaign website had fewer than the 50-plus “electeds” that she cited. His petition included references to her company’s website, LinkedIn profile and filings required of candidates and elected officials.
In her reply, Orozco said Perryman had not contacted her or her campaign to check whether any of his assertions were factual or current. She was promoted last May, to a position in charge of the company’s finance and accounting department, she said.
She also said she had received endorsements from more than 50 electeds. The list included officials from city councils and school districts to central committees.
“He has not done any real investigation,” her lawyer wrote in a brief to the court.
After the hearing, Orozco described the ruling as a victory for residents and a testament to the hard work of her campaign.
“I do my best to be as transparent and forthcoming as possible, and I think that shows today,” said Orozco, also a board member for the Conejo Recreation and Park District.
She called the petition “an attempt to misguide the voters,” saying the judge’s decision allowed her and the campaign to get back to “doing all of our due diligence to reach out to voters.”
Perryman released a statement after the hearing, saying that the case “exposed serious, unanswered questions” about the accuracy of statements presented to voters in election materials. He has called the voter guide one of the most important sources of information, because voters believe it to be credible.
Even the court acknowledged that reasonable questions were raised, he said.
What happens next?
Perryman said he was evaluating next steps, including an appeal. In the meantime, he would continue taking his case directly to the voters.
Tim Allison, an adjunct political science professor at CSU Channel Islands, described the voter guide as helpful, but not crucial in an election.
“Some voters will look at a candidate statement and will make up their mind based on that,” Allison said. “But that’s a small minority of voters.”
For most candidates, the statement in the guide can be a fairly cost-effective way to reach a lot of voters. It is helpful to a campaign, but it typically will not decide an election, he said.
Allison, who was at Friday’s hearing, teaches judicial process at the Camarillo area university. The Perryman petition is one of the case studies his students are studying this semester.
He called the petition unusual in that the allegations were insider baseball with claims that were irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. He was not surprised when the judge rejected the petition.
“This seemed to be more about politics than about the law,” Allison said.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Supervisor hopeful goes to court over competitor’s candidate statement
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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