Thread by @nithyavraman

I'm going to share one of the weirdest open secrets in California politics.

Very soon, you're about to get lots of mail from groups with names like "California Democrats League" and "Environmental Voters" with a slate of endorsements.

They're not what they seem. (thread)

Those slates you get in the mail are 100% paid for by the candidates on them.

That's all there is to it. If a campaign pays the money, they get on the slate. It has nothing to do with policy or record.

Here's an article that lays out how it works: sacbee.com/news/politics-…

Even some very prominent politicians run their own slate mailers -- and charge money to other campaigns to get on them.

If you want to get on Maxine Waters's slate, for example, you have to pay up to $45,000. sunlightfoundation.com/2010/08/25/max…

Our campaign can afford to get on some slate mailers. We've received offers. But we won't do it because they're fraudulent and transparently unethical.

My opponent, David Ryu, on the other hand, has bought his way onto 18 slate mailers so far.

Here are, literally, the receipts.

How are slate mailers still legal? I honestly don't know. They're 100% voter deception. And who are they often designed to prey on? The elderly.

Look at three of the most expensive mailers my opponent has paid for. All targeted at seniors.

We've heard a lot of talk about cleaning up campaigns in LA and getting money out of politics. An easy, obvious first step would be banning slate mailers altogether.

Until then, candidates who claim to care about reform shouldn't be paying to get on them.

I’m proud to be endorsed by *real* progressive groups like the Sunrise Movement and the League of Conservation Voters.

If you’re interested in some other ways we can clean up city politics, I’ve laid out a plan in my Make City Hall Work for Us platform. nithyaforthecity.com/platform/make-…