Weekend Open Thread: Two Top DPOC Members Cheat

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CDP official Skurnik steals DPOC logo with impunity — no punishment or censure until it’s too late — despite clearly knowing better.

DPOC leaders know that certain of its leading incumbents are using its logo (without permission, I’m told, as any permission would be a campaign violation) in their campaign literature — and so far as I can tell has done nothing about it.  In the grand Democratic Party Establishment tradition, favored candidates get to bend and break the rules with impunity — although there may be slaps on the wrist after the cheaters are safely elected — while few without ties to the party would never dare do.

The first person found to have done this was former party Secretary (and CDP member) Anita Narayana, who used it both in a banner ad and — (despite her current position as Presidential candidate Tom Steyer’s Communications Director) — in one featuring Bloomberg endorser Fiona Ma.

Do you get the sense that Narayana was endorsed by the DPOC? You’re supposed to — and it’s not true. The DPOC doesn’t endorse in such races.  Most people agree that it can’t!


But that’s not even the worst example of logo stealing this year. That would be Deborah Cunningham-Skurnick, one of the about 20 “Regional Directors” elected by the California Democratic Party membership.  That’s right — she’s a state party official and she can’t figure out that you can’t use a party trademark without permission to promote your own interests.

(Or maybe you can — if the party isn’t going to punish you for it.)

The third example I have in hand comes from someone who, so far as I know, is not a DPOC member.  It makes me sad because this is someone whom I think would be a good DPOC member (though she’s in a very competitive district, AD-72), and I’m wondering how she got the idea that using the DPOC logo would be acceptable.  Perhaps this came from seeing it used by someone else who didn’t have the right to it.

This is your Weekend Open Thread.  Use it appropriately.


About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)