Editor:
I want to report another false Allison Jackson endorsement. An advertisement in both the Times-Standard and the North Coast Journal incorrectly and inappropriately listed me as an endorser of Ms. Jackson. The false ad may have also been included in other papers.
Not only do I not endorse Ms. Jackson at this time, I specifically told Ms. Jackson, with her campaign manager present and with several days before the ad was published, that I was not prepared to endorse her in the race against Paul Gallegos for the position of District Attorney. Consequently, I was shocked, disappointed and remain upset that Ms. Jackson would have the audacity to put my name on an advertised list without my permission. Because of my history as a victim of crime, she should be doubly ashamed of herself. Then there’s the question: How many others on the list have not endorsed her?
Unfortunately the damage has already been done. Ms. Jackson let this ad be published with full knowledge of my position. This is not the type of leadership I want in my District Attorney.
While looking into this issue of false endorsements using the same papers that ran Ms. Jackson’s current false ad, I was reminded about a similar endorsement debacle involving Allison Jackson and Betty Chinn during the primary DA election. At that time, it was the wonderful Ms. Chinn who was erroneously listed as a Jackson endorser. When Ms. Chinn asked for her name to be removed, Ms. Jackson bizarrely tried to cover it up by claiming that Ms. Chinn was somehow politically harassed into removing her name, which proved untrue. “Cover up” is not a term I want to use when describing my District Attorney.
Although it is very close to election time, I request Allison Jackson be required from this point forward to specifically confirm that the people she features in her ads are actual supporters and not just passing acquaintances. I want my District Attorney to base decisions on evidence, not convenience. I want my District Attorney to be a truth-seeker. I want my District Attorney to be a fair-minded leader whose ends do not justify the means. I want my District Attorney to not prey on the innocent.
Francine Slaughter Schulman, Eureka
Ed. note: The above letter was published on the Humboldt Herald blog Thursday. In response, Jackson campaign volunteer T. Diane Green sent the Journal the following letter.
Editor:
I am writing in response to a letter that I read from Fran Shulman. Allison Jackson is not a liar, nor is she manipulative, devious or conniving. She has had my deepest respect for 16 years. I was the one, way back in May of this year, who called Fran Shulman regarding an endorsement for Allison. I’ve known Fran for 15 years. I was the person who asked her if she would lend her name to officially endorse Allison Jackson. I used the same words that I did with everyone I called, and that was to say that to officially endorse means that you give your permission to use your name in an ad. Fran did at that time officially endorse Allison. I gave that information to her committee and her name has been on Allison’s website and Facebook since May 2010.
On Oct. 5, 2010, at my request, Fran came to a meeting at my house where folks who I had gathered endorsements from were given the opportunity to go on camera for a television spot regarding why they supported Allison. Fran clearly stated that she did not want to be on camera for a commercial so she talked with the other people present. The miscommunication was mine. I did not understand that Fran was withdrawing her endorsement. I believed only that she didn’t want to be on camera. I am sorry that the ad endorsement got muddled with the camera shoot. There was absolutely no intent to do anything but to invite a deeply respected community member (Fran) who had told me previously that she officially endorsed Allison Jackson to express on tape the reasons why.
T. Diane Green, LCSW, ACSW
This article appears in The Creepy Carson.
From Heraldo:
http://humboldtherald.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/jackson-lies-about-yet-another-endorsement/
Francine Schulman says:
October 21, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Yes, I spoke with Hank Sims today and confirmed that Ms. Jackson had used my name in her ad without my permission. Yes, I thought it might have been some kind of misunderstanding. Yes, Mr. Sims and I agreed the letter would not be printed in his paper but not because the letter was somehow untrue. I didn’t want the letter to be printed for selfish reasons.
I stand by the letter because everything in it is accurate. I retracted the letter because I panicked during my conversation with Hank. As I told him, I am a full time Nursing Student in my first semester of studies. I don’t have time for this stuff. Though it was important to me to write a quick letter to the editor regarding Ms. Jackson’s false endorsements, I was not ready for the immediate pressure I began to feel building inside me once Hank called. Though I was angry with Ms. Jackson – and still am, for using my name inappropriately in her campaign, I could feel the distraction of this potential maelstrom taking me away from my school work. I need to study and not be talking about the DA race.
More importantly and personnaly, while taking to Mr. Sims, I began to recall the last time I dealt with a North Coast Journal Reporter. She was a young woman who wanted to talk about the murder of my daughter in 1994. This woman would have been around my daughter’s age if Amber was still alive. These sad memories returned while taking to Hank. I could feel my panic levels continue to increase. I felt like I could not allow these dredged memories to distract me from my school. Consequently, I retracted the letter.
While writing this response, I realize that I must go forward and open this Pandora’s Box. The letter presented to Mr. Sims at the North Coast Journal today is accurate and I will call his tomorrow to request, once again, that the letter regarding the false endorsements be printed. It is the right thing to do.
Extremely irresponsible in this online version not to attach/include, as you did (responsibly) in your actual paper, this letter from Diane Green:
You’re blaming the wrong person**
I am writing in response to a letter that I read from Fran Shulman. Allison Jackson is not a liar, nor is she manipulative, devious, or conniving. She has had my deepest respect for 16 years. I was the one, way back in May of this year, who called Fran Shulman regarding an endorsement for Allison. I’ve known Fran for 15 years. I was the person who asked her if she would lend her name to officially endorse Allison Jackson. I used the same words that I did with everyone I called, and that was to say that to officially endorse means that you give your permission to use your name in an ad. Fran did at that time officially endorse Allison. I gave that information to her committee and her name has been on Allison’s website and facebook since May, 2010.
On Oct. 5, 2010, at my request, Fran came to a meeting at my house where folks who I had gathered endorsements from were given the opportunity to go on camera for a television spot regarding why they supported Allison. Fran clearly stated that she did not want to be on camera for a commercial so she talked with the other people present. The miscommunication was mine. I did not understand that Fran was withdrawing her endorsement. I believed only that she didn’t want to be on camera. I am sorry that the ad endorsement got muddled with the camera shoot. There was absolutely no intent to do anything but to invite a deeply respected community member (Fran) who had told me previously that she officially endorsed Allison Jackson to express on tape the reasons why.
Respectfully Submitted;
T. Diane Green, LCSW, ACSW
Arcata
Readers may also note that this is addressed elsewhere in the Journal coverage:
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/2010/10/28/gettin-ugly/**