Cunningham Demands that Ortiz-Legg Retract Mailer Containing Fabricated Court Document

Templeton, CA— Assembly candidate Dawn Ortiz-Legg created further controversy yesterday when her campaign distributed a mailer to voters that contained numerous false statements and a fabricated court document.

The mailer falsely claimed that her opponent, Jordan Cunningham, “defended a man who attacked his girlfriend – threatening to kill her with a knife” and “got him a plea deal so he could get back on the street.” The mailer displayed a Tribune article headline dated August 10, 2012, and what appeared to be a court document entitled “Case Summary” showing Jordan Cunningham as “Lead Attorney” for this case. This “Case Summary” was dated August 21, 2012.

The problem is that the “Case Summary” from 2012 is a completely fabricated document. For the entirety of 2012, Jordan Cunningham was a prosecutor with the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office — not a private attorney. As such, he never represented this individual in 2012. The claims in Ortiz-Legg’s mailer about Cunningham’s involvement in this 2012 case are completely false.

Cunningham called on Ms. Ortiz-Legg to immediately publish a retraction of the defamatory mailer. He further stated that his campaign will be sending a formal “cease and desist” letter to her campaign, and providing a copy to all news and media outlets, within 24 hours.

Cunningham’s campaign also demanded that Ortiz-Legg pull her defamatory television ad, which contained similar false statements about the 2012 case, as well as implied that Cunningham himself was involved in criminal activity. Cunningham has never been arrested or charged with any crime. Prior to his work as a prosecutor in San Luis Obispo County, he worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and clerked for two federal judges, and passed all criminal background checks related to those positions.

Ortiz-Legg’s attacks on Cunningham for doing defense work are more than a little hypocritical. As previously reported, Ortiz-Legg recently admitted during a radio debate that she had a DUI offense, but only after initially claiming that she had never been charged or convicted of a crime.

When asked for his reaction to the mailer, Cunningham stated: “My opponent is lying again, probably to distract the voters from her own criminal history. It’s shameful. The Central Coast deserves better.”

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