EDITORIAL - The Madera County Board of Supervisors race for District 5 has gotten highly nasty in the last few weeks. A flyer is circulating in Eastern Madera County alleging candidate Mark Reed has a criminal record that includes drug and weapons convictions. That flyer was followed up by a professionally produced video on YouTube highlighting the allegations of the flyer and questioning whether the candidate's son might be a white supremacist as it alleges that the grown son has a NAZI Swastika tattooed under his eye.
Reed followed up with a political mailer that called out individual Madera County residents who have opposed his campaign. He accuses five Eastern Madera County women of everything from a socialist to a lesbian, a witch, and even “GASP,” a Democrat. The Reed flyer even attacks one of the unions representing one of the county employee's sixteen bargaining units. The most shocking attack in the flyer for me was why Reed would feel the need to question why his opponent supports a movement like 'Black Life's Matter,' because Reed’s opponent in this campaign is a black man running for the position of Madera County Supervisor.
In the last couple of days, I have seen some posts about me being a supporter of the current Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler and his chief of staff, Robert Macaulay. However, if you were a reader of Big Valley News, you would know that Tom Wheeler is the only elected official to ever take a swing at me during a board meeting. I have never taken any advertising from Mr. Wheeler; I donated ads to Marc Sobel, Wheeler's opponent, during the last election cycle. My reporting also led to Madera County CAO Eric Fleming finally being dismissed by the board because of his consistent actions towards women. In other words, there is no love lost between Tom Wheeler and me. I have no horse in this race, but I am concerned for Madera County.
Up until two weeks ago, I had never met Mark S. Reed or fellow candidate Beau Campbell. After a phone call with Reed, red flags started popping up that there was something very wrong. First, Reed reminded me of the county supervisor from the Chowchilla area, David Rogers. During Rogers' first campaign, he was removed from the offices of the Chowchilla News by Chowchilla Police after he verbally assaulted the editor of the paper, ironically also a woman. What is it with this new breed of Republican politician that feels it is ok to attack women? Second, Reed made accusations of voter fraud in the last election with the mailout ballots but had no clue that Madera County has been a test county for California, meaning that Madera ballots have been mailed out for the last seven election cycles. During that time, there has never been a claim of voter fraud in Madera County. Third, for every issue he wanted to talk about, he could only give reference to Los Angeles County and nothing about Madera County. Then the video about his alleged criminal history came out.
My first question to him about the video was, "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" Without hesitation, his answer was "NO!" We talked about the video and how he discussed it with the Madera County Sheriff, who told him that the video’s claims were bogus. Afterward, I called Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue, who denied giving Reed a blanket pass on his past because he had no reference to base such an opinion. In a second conversation, Reed said that was not his interpretation of the conversation and then talked about the California Labor Code and how he could not be asked questions about his prior arrests or convictions because they have either been dismissed or expunged by the courts. He told me he has contacted an attorney and would be filing defamation suits against anyone that brought up those cases. I tried to explain to Reed that the labor code only applied to his seeking employment and had no standing with the voters or the media who might have questions about a candidate's past. He did not seem to see a difference.
In two different conversations, it is my opinion I was misled at least twice, first about whether he was ever convicted of a crime and second about his conversation with the sheriff. Our conversation moved on to his career in Hollywood and why he was not listed for any credits on the IMDb website. He answered by saying many credits are not listed on Internet Movie Database (IMDb), then said he was a card-carrying member of the Screen Actors Guild. When I called the SAG for confirmation, they could not verify his membership. He says he has had a very successful Hollywood career, but none of his credits are listed on the industry's number one database of Hollywood credits. Heck, Ryan Katzenbach, the advertising manager for Bonander Buick in Turlock, is listed on IMDb for the documentaries he has produced.
Was this another Reed misrepresentation? I do not know. In 1973, while I was with my parents in San Francisco, we were approached about me being an extra in the television show 'The Streets of San Francisco". If you watch the episode 'No Badge for Benjy,' you will see a cute eight-year-old redheaded boy walk through the scene several times, never looking at the camera. If you look up that episode on IMDb, you will not find my name listed next to Karl Malden's. But I was still in the episode even though I do not have a SAG card. So, I guess the real question is, what is Reed's definition of the word 'successful’?
As for Reed's experience, I have found that he is a four-time loser for a seat in the United States Congress held by Democrat Bradly Sherman, who has held the seat since 2013. Reed was what is called in political circles a 'Sacrificial Lamb,' a candidate from an opposing party that has no chance of winning, who is put up against a more vigorous incumbent from the opposite party. So, if Reed was backed by the Republicans four times for a seat that no one thought he stood any chance of winning, does that equate to a successful political career’? His loss in the Los Angeles City Council District 7 primary in 2017 might also indicate a no.
Much of my research has uncovered relatively recent events in the Los Angeles area, so where does Mark Reed even live? During his 2020 failed attempt at a run for Congress, he told the Spectrum News, "I am a sixth-generation family member in the San Fernando Valley. My great grandfather came over the Barham Pass in a buckboard on a horse, so we are very familiar with the San Fernando Valley." Reed continued. "We call this home. I call this home. This is where my family roots are. This is where my family is. This is where my family's support is. This is why I'm standing up to fight for the San Fernando Valley and bring back those principles and ideals that we all know exist in a very family-oriented community."
With all the talk about his lifelong love for his home, the San Fernando Valley, he was asked in November of 2020 what he would do if he lost his fourth bid for Congress; he said, "I'll sell a couple of my houses here in the LA area and buy a house on Bass Lake and kind of go into retirement and just enjoy my family at this point." But as part of this year’s campaign, he tells voters that he has family, friends, and business ties to the local community that goes back five decades. The funny thing about a statement like that is I have family, friends, and business ties that go back five decades with the city of Philadelphia, but that does not mean I am a citizen of the City of Brotherly Love.
In 2020 Mark Reed claimed his home and future were in the San Fernando Valley, and in 2022 he claims five decades of being a part of the Eastern Madera community. Which one is it? Is this another misrepresentation? Or is this just another convenient 'Trumpian' alternative fact that Reed is trying to sell to the Madera County Mountain Community? And what about the attacks on these five women in his latest political mailer? Several men opposed Reed also, but he did not single any of them out publicly. How responsible was it for Reed to public out a person who happens to be a lesbian to a community that hates gay people? While I will not use her name in this editorial, she has posted a video about her fears of retaliation (see below) from local hate groups. Will Reed be held responsible if something happens to this woman? And why would Reed single out one of the State-sanctioned labor unions for the county while he says he is a member of the most liberal union in the country, the Hollywood Screen Actors Guild?
This election for Madera County Supervisor is crucial. There is a chance that in January of 2023, there will be three new supervisors on the board, and much of the corruption of the Eric Fleming era will be gone. If we can focus on the removal of David Rogers, even better, but he will still have to contend with the outcome of the Madera County Grand Jury Inquiry, which has led to a District Attorney investigation. According to DA Sally Moreno, this investigation is still open and active as of February of this year. There are far too many questions pending about Mark Reed to trust an outsider with something this important. My solution is simple if you are still unsure about Reed or Macaulay, vote for Beau Campbell to help ensure that none of the candidates reach a majority in the Primary. My daddy always said if you give a dead rat enough time, he will show you where he stands. I think the voters of the mountain area need more time to figure out who this man is and if what he is telling people is truthful. I believe that I am an excellent judge of character, and after two weeks of talking to Reed, my instincts tell me I have heard more lies than truth, but I cannot vote for him since I do not live in that district.
All county citizens need the voters of Eastern Madera County to choose wisely this election season because it’s not just the future of Eastern Madera County on the line but the future of Madera County as a whole. So, on June 7th, vote for Edward Beau Campbell for Madera County Board of Supervisors District 5.
