In one of those what-was-he-thinking moments, San Luis Obispo Supervisor Adam Hill called a constituent who had penned a letter to the editor and accused her of being a communist, socialist, or Marxist. He then falsely identified himself as Ed Waage, his challenger for County Supervisor.
The story continued to deepen when a copy of the phone-call was given to CalCoastNews. Their reporters contacted Hill who denied knowing of the phone call, called the claim “malicious” and an example of the campaign of defamation against him. Later, Hill’s response changed as he said the calls were in fact him but that they were meant as a joke. According to the CalCoastNews, Hill said he simply never got around to telling either the constituent or Waage that it was a joke. However, nine days had elapsed between the call and the admission.
The questions must be asked: What did Hill think he could accomplish by accusing a constituent of being a socialist, communist, or Marxist? And did he really think he could cost Waage a vote (and thereby gain himself a vote) by impersonating his opponent?
In the age of instant communication and, more importantly, the ability to instantly transfer data from one electronic medium to another, Hill must have known that his call would inevitably go viral, at least in the SLO community. There, it will likely impugn Hill’s character more than cost Waage a vote in an upcoming election.
From the Cal Coast News:
San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill admitted Wednesday he impersonated his political opponent, and now says it was just a joke.
On Jan. 6, the San Luis Obispo Tribune printed a letter to the editor from Sheila Blake, asking readers to help her convince LAFCO to vote against annexing the proposed Los Robles Del Mar development into the city of Pismo Beach. The issue has divided many in the South County beach community.
On the same morning, Hill left the following message on Blake’s answering machine, calling her names and claiming to be Ed Waage, Hill’s opponent in the District 3 supervisor race.
Read the full article here.