Democrats for Equality,
First off, our club members voted overwhelmingly to endorse David Dodson for Board of Equalization District 4.
Recently, the San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed David Dodson highlighting Dodson's 30-year service with the Board of Equalization as a property appraiser, instructor, and supervisor. Dodson has also been a Coast Guard reservist.
Unfortunately, incumbent office holder Mike Schaefer has what could be charitably described as a checkered past. With that knowledge, club members voted with a 90% majority to rate incumbent Mike Schaefer as "unacceptable."
An "unacceptable" rating for our club is given in the event that a candidate has a poor position or record on one or more critical issues, and/or the candidate has demonstrated a lack of responsiveness or sensitivity to the LGBTQ+ community.
If you type 'Mike Schaefer' and 'Los Angeles Times' into a Google search, that should tell you everything you need to know about how absolutely awful his record has been on the Board of Equalization, and his even worse history as a convicted wife-beating slumlord, perennial candidate in multiple cities and states, disbarments in California and Nevada, and the cherry-on-top having had a restraining order filed against him several years ago by 3-time Emmy-winning actor and comedian Brad Garrett.
Earlier this year, he was caught lying about having endorsements from the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Last month, it was reported that Schaefer's re-election campaign committee gave $30,000 to a conservative-aligned group that also recently donated a large chunk to the Republican Party of San Diego County.
According to the Voice of San Diego, reporter Jesse Marx documented Schaefer in 2015 discussing his new girlfriend and then sliding Marx a card for an escort service.
Did we mention Schaefer was one of the most notorious slumlords in Los Angeles during the 1980s? He was ordered to pay his former tenants $1.83 million due to an infestation of rats and cockroaches.
In 2018, Reddit users -- known for their restraint on controversial topics and toxicity -- had a field day over a racist Facebook post by Mike Schaefer.
In 2011, after former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer (no relation) passed away, in a wild story reported by The Baltimore Sun, Mike Schaefer filed a claim stating he should get $28,000 from Gov. Schaefer's estate.
The San Diego Union-Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and other publications have posited Schaefer's unfitness for office.
It's our hope that voters finally boot him from office for, presumably, the last time and send him packing into whatever slumlord retirement he wants for himself.
Thankfully, there is an absolutely qualified individual running: David Dodson. Vote for David Dodson, and spare us the public embarrassment of Mike Schaefer as a public official.