"There you go again!"
David Hadley Responds to Baseless Muratsuchi Attacks
Professional politicians have a saying: "If you're explaining, you're losing." Their thinking is that it's better to focus on your own message than to play defense by responding to attacks.
That may be so, but I'm not a professional politician, I'm a citizen legislator. Our grassroots South Bay movement is not politics as usual - so many of you are my friends, neighbors, fellow Ed Foundation or AYSO parents, etc. It is important to me that you know the truth, either for your own peace of mind or so you can respond to your neighbors' concerns.
I apologize for the long email, but its length reflects the smear campaign my opponent, Al Muratsuchi, is running against me.
Allegations related to my business career
Allegation #1: "Violated money laundering rules"
Allegation #2: "Busted for illegal trading"
Allegation #3: "Hadley has a long record of breaking the law to benefit himself"
Verdict: Allegation #2 and Allegation #3 are completely false, Allegation #1 is so exaggerated as to be false.
Reality: I founded my business ("HPi") in 1999 and ran it full-time until I was elected to the Assembly. HPi was licensed, regulated and audited.
I am incredibly proud not only of the professional success of HPi, but of the legal and ethical way we did business. HPi advised over 100 companies and generated well over $10 million in firm revenue during this period, and some of our clients created thousands of new jobs. Neither HPi nor I have ever been sued, threatened with legal action or accused of harming clients, investors or employees.
In HPi's entire history, our regulators found two bookkeeping errors over 10 years ago. First, in 2003, HPi arranged an investment by a Connecticut-based firm without realizing that Connecticut did not accept our national license. We applied for (and received) a Connecticut license after the fact and paid a small fine for our mistake. By the way, the investor made 4x their money and the company created hundreds of jobs with that investment!
Second, in 2005 during a routine audit, our regulators determined that HPi's money-laundering compliance practices had not kept pace with the new requirements that Congress passed after 9/11 (the USA PATRIOT Act). We upgraded our practices, paid a small penalty and were never again cited.
No money laundering took place or was alleged.
That's it. 15 years of successful business and a total of $8,500 in fines. I'm proud of my business career and ethical practices, and my opponent's attacks are false.
Accusations related to campaign finance
Allegation #4: "Caught laundering $40,000 in illegal campaign contributions"
Verdict: We made an honest mistake and corrected it immediately.
Reality: Under California law political candidates are allowed to accept unlimited contributions from party committees.
Al Muratsuchi is a champion of taking money from his party bosses - he has accepted over $1.8 million from party committees all over the state in just the last six weeks. That is how he pays to stuff your mailbox full of attack ads.
In 2014, my campaign accepted a $45,000 contribution from a party committee for the 66
th Assembly District. My treasurer informed me the contribution was legal, so my campaign accepted it. After being served with a complaint, we learned that the state legal definition of "party committee" does not include Assembly District party committees, so we promptly returned $40,900 of the total to comply with contribution limits. The California Fair Political Practices Commission noted in our settlement that we accepted this contribution "without intent to deceive."
When I make a mistake, I own it and I correct it.
Allegation #5: "Currently under investigation - again"
Verdict: Yes, my 2016 campaign is under investigation again - because Al Muratsuchi filed a false and baseless complaint!
These accusations are false and will be shown to be false in the course of the investigation. But Muratsuchi has already gotten what he wanted; a headline about my campaign being investigated.
Allegation #6: "Hadley took the oil companies' money and then did their bidding"
Verdict: The most dishonest of all of Muratsuchi's campaign finance allegations.
Reality: I have raised more money from individual donors who live in the district I represent than any other legislator or legislative candidate anywhere in the state. My opponent's campaign is entirely dependent on the California Democratic Party.
Oil and energy companies account for about 2% of the funds I have raised in this campaign.
I have received well over ten times as much financial support from South Bay residents as I have from energy companies. So even if you accept Muratsuchi's slander that my vote is for sale (it is not), I am proud to say that South Bay residents have greatly outbid any interest group for that vote!
I have been a strong vote on environmental issues.
I was one of only two Republicans in the legislature to vote to increase renewable energy to 50% of the state's electricity by 2030. I will continue to oppose offshore oil-drilling. I am committed to ensuring that the Torrance refinery is operated safely and transitions away from hydrofluoric acid and MHF. I will continue to be the voice of the South Bay, not the tool of any interest group.
Al Muratsuchi is the candidate in this race who is engaged in (legal) money laundering. He self-righteously proclaims that he does not accept oil company contributions. But he has accepted well over $1.8 million from committees that have received over $1 million from oil companies. This is the very definition of money laundering - concealing the true origins of money by transferring that money through intermediate entities.
A few particularly egregious falsehoods about my legislative record
Allegation #7: "David Hadley voted to cut $101 billion from California public schools"
Verdict: Laughably false.
Reality: I voted against the overall budget bill, because I do not support many of the misguided priorities of the majority in the legislature - just to pick one of many examples, spending money on high speed rail. But under California's constitution (Proposition 98, passed in 1988), public education receives a guaranteed portion of the state's general fund revenue. I voted in favor of the "budget trailer" bill that determines how those education funds will be spent and that bill included increasing education funds for our South Bay public schools.
Allegation #8: "David Hadley is anti-choice."
since early 2014: "David Hadley believes - as a matter of law - that women and couples have the right to make their own decisions about pregnancies. He is personally opposed to abortion as birth control, he'll vote against partial birth abortion and he favors parental notification because state law should strengthen the family unit."
This is how I have voted in the Assembly.
Conclusion
It is easy to tell a lie or distort the truth. It is particularly easy when you have seemingly unlimited funds to do so.
I remain what I have been since I introduced myself to the South Bay - a man of integrity trying to bring common sense to Sacramento as
your voice. My track record in Sacramento is one of balance.
Please forward this email to your concerned friends and neighbors.
Sincerely,
David
