Sacramento Bee: Simmons blasted over political use of College Campus

Simmons' use of Sierra College in TV spot has some on campus seeing an ethical, policy breach.
By Niesha Lofing -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Thursday, June 1, 2006

In the latest battle in the war for the District 2 seat on the Placer County Board of Supervisors -- candidate Jerry Simmons has come under fire for taping part of a political advertisement on the Sierra College campus.

Several faculty and staff members at the college -- where Simmons is president of the Sierra Joint Community College District's board of trustees -- are upset by what they say are Simmons' unethical actions and violations of campus policy by using the campus in his television spot.

Simmons defends his ad, however, saying that his use of the campus was not improper and is an effort by his opponent, Supervisor Robert Weygandt, to "attempt to distract from the real issues of the campaign."
"This complaint is merely intended to distract the voters from Robert Wey-gandt's terrible record as a supervisor," Simmons said.

The dispute is the latest in the race for the District 2 supervisorial seat and yet another in controversies swirling around Simmons on the college campus.

On Tuesday, a group of local officials filed a notice of intention to recall board of trustee members Simmons and Aaron Klein, based on claims that the two "wasted money, damaged the college's reputation and demoralized faculty, staff and administration," states a news release that names Rocklin Mayor George Magnuson and former Supervisor Rex Bloomfield among the group's leaders.

Simmons also has been criticized in recent weeks by Sierra College faculty and staff for what some call his intimidation of the campus community, and the board is supposed to vote later this month whether to keep Simmons as its president.

A letter to the board by Rebecca Gregg, a photography and applied art and design professor, criticizes Simmons for having taped one of his campaign ads showing the college's library and the Standing Guard Remembrance Garden gate in the background.

The garden is part of a project intended to commemorate the U.S. internment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

Gregg argues in her letter, dated May 15, that by showing portions of the campus, Simmons is trying to imply that he has the support of the college in his quest for county supervisor.

"Since I teach visual communication, I assure you that this is no small matter," Gregg writes. "My students would easily recognize this tactic as a classic visual propaganda technique that, though unspoken, implies endorsement. … "His use of the Garden is appallingly insensitive and wrong."

Gregg, along with other faculty and staff, also is quick to point out that Simmons did not go through proper channels to get permission to film the ad on campus.

Sue Michaels, Sierra College spokeswoman, said anyone wishing to use the campus for filming purposes -- including use of the grounds -- must file a facilities request with the operations department 10 days in advance.

If the request is approved, a fee may be assessed, she said.

"(Simmons) did not put in a request with operations," Michaels said.

Historically, the district has not allowed the filming of political commercials, Michaels said.

"It's very important that we don't appear to do any kind of campaigning," she said. "To come out and support one candidate as opposed to another would be inappropriate for us."

Using the campus for political campaigning also is prohibited under board policy.

Board policy states that "No trustee shall use or permit others to use public resources, except that which is incidental or minimal, for personal purposes or any other purpose not authorized by law."

The government code relevant to that board policy also states that it is "unlawful for any elected state or local officer … to use or permit others to use public resources for a campaign activity," and further defines public resources as including land, buildings and facilities.

In the past 20 years, there have been no other political commercials filmed on campus, Michaels said, adding that "voter registration is the only non-advocacy political activity allowed on campus."

Simmons said he thinks the tumult over his taping part of his ad on campus is "ridiculous."

"I think the core and central point is that at no point did I use taxpayer time, equipment or personnel in the filming or production of the campaign ad," he said. "I think it's clear under (the government code relevant to the board policy) that the use was incidental in nature."

Others, however, disagree.

"It's an absolute violation of not only college policy, but ethics," said Joe Medeiros, a Sierra College biology professor. "This is a horrific ethical lapse of integrity."

Anthony Maki Gill, Classified Senate president, said many at the college are "aghast" that Simmons would not only tape a political commercial on campus without permission, but use the Standing Guard Remembrance Garden in the background.

"I think that is a pretty obvious example of Simmons' lack of sensitivity," Gill said. "I can only imagine the damage that he could wreak if he could dupe the public into believing he's the candidate they should elect."

Simmons pointed out that Weygandt's television ads also feature public property -- Rocklin and Lincoln city halls are both shown in the background.

Weygandt said his campaign representatives sought, and obtained, a permit to tape in Lincoln, and had the permission of the mayor and City Council in Rocklin.

Weygandt said he doesn't mind that he sought official permission to tape his ads, while Simmons did not.

"It doesn't bother me in that regard, but it is consistent with the way he is running his campaign," Weygandt said.