Tuck campaign demands removal of false attack ads

Today, the Marshall Tuck campaign’s legal counsel sent a letter to radio stations across California, demanding they immediately stop running false radio ads paid for by the California Teacher’s Association.

The ads are part of a large-scale independent expenditure effort the union is running to protect embattled incumbent Tom Torlakon. Unlike ads from candidate committees, TV & radio stations can be liable for airing false or defamatory content from independent committees.

These radio ads continue a pattern from the primary election – when Torlakson and his supporters ran ads called “slimy” by the San Jose Mercury News and “misleading” by the Sacramento Bee.

Amid a series of dishonest statements, the Tuck campaign’s letter points out that there is no evidence to substantiate the following:

  • Inaccurate statement: “Tuck’s management was so poor, federal tax liens were filed against his schools for tens of thousands in unpaid taxes.”
  • The truth: There were no federal tax liens against either school system led by Tuck, the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools or Green Dot, during his tenure according to IRS records.

The letter sent to stations is available here.

A complete fact check is located here.

More falsehoods and distortions from the radio ad:

  • CLAIM: that Tuck “failed as an executive at the Partnership for LA Schools.”
  • TRUTH: During Tuck’s six-plus years leading the Partnership schools, graduation rates were raised by over 60%, while significant improvements were made with school safety and student attendance.
  • CLAIM: “80% of teachers gave [Tuck] a failing grade.”
  • TRUTH: Under Tuck’s leadership, the Partnership schools made significant gains. And the “vote of no confidence” was in the first year of PLAS and was part of a broader political stunt by UTLA aimed at Mayor Villaraigosa, just months after the Partnership took over 17 of LA County’s lowest-performing schools. In fact, after five years of Partnership management, a vast majority of teachers and principals indicated in a year-end survey that they felt their schools were moving in the right direction.