Why Ben Huesos Smear Attack Doesnt Add Up

By Barrett Tetlow
On Friday, Voice of OC published a fatally-flawed story smearing Carl DeMaio using a completely unsubstantiated accusation. When I first read the blog post, I was dismayed that any outlet would run a story that could cause so much damage to someones character without fully vetting the allegations. I do not work for Carl DeMaio and never have. But I do work in a Council Office at the City of San Diego. I know the players involved, and I know the layout of the Council Chambers and the private bathroom in question. Before repeating a lie, and damaging Mr. DeMaios character, you have an obligation to factcheck this story which will quickly result in disproving the claims made. Here are the facts I have uncovered in just the past 24 hours about this lie. DEMAIOS RESPONSE: The DeMaio campaign has unequivocally denied Huesos story as a lie. On Friday, DeMaios lawyer sent a letter to VOC demanding the false accusations in the story be removed. DeMaio is in an impossible position. How do you refute a rumor or an accusation like this? A salacious accusation such as this is designed to do damage and it does not have to be true to do the damage intended. ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND VOC: The author, Rex Daulton attempted to sell the story to the Voice of San Diego in October 2012 but the VSD refused to run the story because of its questionable basis. Contact VSD CEO Scott Lewis at 619-701-6664. After being rejected by VSD, Daulton then tried to sell the story to San Diego City Beat but editor Dave Rolland passed on the story because he could not get Hueso to confirm the account. Rolland on Friday tweeted this fact using the handle @drolland. The Voice of OC is a left-leaning blog that receives the bulk of its funding from organized labor. Organized labor opposed Carl DeMaio in the 2012 election, spending millions against him because DeMaio has been the leading voice opposing labors agenda and led the effort to reform city employee pensions and compensation. Since Friday, organized labor has been using social media to push the flawed story out to other outlets. WHO IS BEN HUESO: Ben Hueso was DeMaios main antagonist on City Council during the time they served together. Videos of Council meetings are posted online, and they have captured several heated debates

where Hueso has made some pretty politically-charged remarks about DeMaio. Hueso is in tight with organized labor and has strongly opposed him in each election.

FACTS REFUTE HUESO

Huesos tale is easily refuted on a number of counts and even one of these counts should completely raise questions on the authenticity of his story. VOC SMEAR: One day, Hueso recalled, Former Councilman Tony Young unexpectedly described how DeMaio was masturbating after bolting the council chamber following attention-grabbing speeches chastising city staff. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: Tony Young, a Democrat, categorically denies this account. Any media attempting to re-report this story has an obligation to contact Young at 619-980-0787 to ascertain whether Huesos account is in dispute by his democratic colleague. VOC SMEAR: Later, Hueso said, he talked about the events with then Councilman Todd Gloria, who Hueso said acknowledged knowing. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: Todd Gloria, a Democrat, categorically denies this account. Any media attempting to re-report this story has an obligation to contact Gloria at 619-985-2073 to ascertain whether Huesos account is in dispute by his democratic colleague. VOC SMEAR: Hueso said he timed his own dais departure after DeMaio left so he could catch the bathroom door before it closed. This meant it didnt click shut, and require the noise of the combination lock keypad to open it. Hueso said he held the door for a few seconds, then swung it open, again seeing DeMaio masturbating, producing another awkward scene. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: The City Council Chambers has a private bathroom with a punch code lock entry. The public does not have access to nor is it allowed to use this bathroom. The door is heavy, closes quickly, and closes with a loud noise. This creates both a noise issue and a timing issue that dispute Huesos account. To time his departure as he claimed in his tale, Hueso would have to be immediately behind DeMaio to catch the door. DeMaio would have known Hueso was just a mere footsteps behind him.

Timing also complicates Huesos tale again, when he claims after a few seconds he alleges DeMaio was fully engaged and in the middle of the alleged act. To believe Mr. Huesos account, one would have to assume DeMaio was able to drop his pants and be in the act after a few seconds. Huesos tale simply does not add up. To verify this account of the particular layout of the bathroom and its impact on timing and noise, contact George Biagi at 619-993-6360. In addition, Biagi who is a progressive Democrat who is Deputy City Clerk, calls Huesos claim a disgusting lie. VOC SMEAR: DeMaio was in front of a urinal with his pants down, Hueso said: DeMaio was masturbating. He jumped, caught by surprise. He jumped to the sink saying 'Im sorry, Im sorry' about six times. Then washed his hands, darted out. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: Next to the urinal is a toilet with a privacy divider. If you were going to masturbate, why do it at the urinal and not in the toilet area for privacy? Even without the luxury of a privacy barrier, do you seriously think anyone would masturbate into a urinal? VOC SMEAR: The VOC story claims the rumor was an Open secret and events (were) known by elected officials and suspected by members of the media. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: VOCs own reporting pokes a huge hole in this claim, as they cite one of the most connected City Hall observers with the following: While one of the citys most savvy observers and outspoken critics of DeMaio and his backers, Erie had not heard of the masturbation report. VOC SMEAR: Ben Hueso, the City Councils president in 2009, acknowledged to this reporter that he witnessed DeMaio engaging in the practice twice. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: Hueso shares one salacious (and improbable given the facts) account. NO ONE else except Ben Hueso has stepped forward to say they saw DeMaio doing anything like this. Are we to believe that Ben Hueso is the only one to have witnessed this, and had the luck to witness it TWICE? VOC SMEAR: Asked who she thought knew, Emerald said, Everyone, from the council to some staff, who even complained to DeMaios office. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: Every single staff member who worked for DeMaio during the four years on City Council has categorically denied this claim. Absolutely no complaints were received. To the contrary,

when this rumor was started by Hueso, DeMaios staff complained to their democratic counterparts that it was absurd and distasteful. Contact Chris Hansen who worked for DeMaio in 2009 at 858-663-9411 and complained to Democratic staff about them spreading this rumor. VOC SMEAR: San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald confirmed Huesos account, FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: Emerald, a partisan democrat who is a long-standing vocal opponent of DeMaio, only said Hueso told her about the incident. Contrary to the VOCs claim, she cannot confirm Huesos account at all, but her comment (if verified) can do nothing more than confirm Ben Hueso is actively engaged in spreading disgraceful rumors. VOC SMEAR: But the DeMaio campaign never made a concerted effort to publicize Filners interactions with women. Likewise, Filner's campaign never directly pushed the masturbation reports. One observer compared the standoff to Cold War brinksmanship. FACTS DISPUTE THIS STORY: VOCs smear is easily disproven on this claim, as the DeMaios campaign repeatedly raised the issue of Filners treatment of women, including two 1000-point television ads featuring Filners assault on Joanne Kunkle and used sent mailers Warning for Women regarding his demeaning treatment of women. Additionally, local media is well aware of the DeMaio campaigns efforts to refer any sexual harassment leads to local media and the UT San Diego published a story on July 23, 2013 recounting this fact.

CONCLUSIONS
Huesos accusation completely falls apart after simple truth-testing. The media has an ethical obligation to true test and verify such an explosive and damaging claim. It is NOT sufficient to simply cite Voice of OC and shift the responsibility to a publication of dubious credibility and itself failed to properly vet Huesos salacious claim. Ive compiled these leads for a reason to make your job easier. Before repeating a lie, and damaging Mr. DeMaios character, you have an obligation to do the simple fact checking Voice of OC failed to do.