Scott Mayberry Received Voter List from Rafanan, Denies Sharing It With Anonymous Facebook Account

A dispute over a voter-registration list is hanging over the final days of the Fort Bragg City Council race, in which eight candidates are competing for three seats on Nov. 3.

The list came up at the council's Oct. 26 meeting. A local dentist who supports Councilmember Tess Albin-Smith — one of the candidates seeking re-election — said an anonymous Facebook page had used voter-registration data to accuse him of being improperly registered, a claim the dentist said was false.

MendoLocal.News confirmed that city council candidate and Vice Mayor Marcia Rafanan purchased a voter roll from the Mendocino County Registrar of Voters on Aug. 10. Information from that same voter roll, which carried the date it was produced, was shared with The Tess Files, a Facebook page that targets Albin-Smith and her supporters — which is how the dentist, one of those supporters, came to be named on it.

Albin-Smith had drawn the ire of Rafanan's supporters before: almost two years ago, during the council's discussion of whom to seat as mayor and vice mayor, she disagreed with Rafanan's appointment as vice mayor and questioned her ability to perform the duties of the role — which will put Rafanan in line to by mayor of Fort Bragg if re-elected. Albin-Smith's comments were widely publicized, including in the San Francisco Chronicle, and she drew criticism from Rafanan's supporters that she had disparaged the qualifications of a person of Indigenous heritage. Rafanan is a member of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians.

The Registrar's office told MendoLocal.News that it contacted Rafanan and told her the roll could not be posted on social media or used for a different purpose, and asked that related material be taken down. It was. Rafanan told fellow council members and the audience in the chamber that she was not responsible for what was posted on social media.

MendoLocal.News asked candidate Scott Mayberry — a former Fort Bragg police chief who now holds a county public-safety role — whether he had any involvement with the roll or the posts. In written answers, Mayberry said he did share the voter roll Rafanan purchased, which he said was lawful for campaign mailers under state campaign regulations, and he denied any involvement in the anonymous Facebook posts about the registration. He also said that he had himself been accused on Facebook of improper registration, an allegation he said was unfounded.

His answers are reproduced below. Where Mayberry or the underlying dispute cites a specific law, we've added a short, neutral note on what that law is and where you can read it yourself — we are not saying whether anyone is right or wrong.

Q: Do you have concerns about the use of the voter roll that the Registrar's office has said was not permitted?

Doing the right thing is what matters here, regardless of title or office. However, in this case, as well as those involving others, I do have an issue with trial by social media. Council Member Rafanan made her statement about this issue at the City Council meeting on the 26th. She addressed the issue as presented and stated that it was not her doing.

Q: As a former police chief, who is sworn to uphold the Constitution and state and local law, does the apparent misuse of voter-registration data concern you?

Again, as I stated, any misuse or wrongdoing would be concerning, regardless of my occupation or title. I am a citizen of this town and feel the same way I hope all of us do.

Q: Did you or your campaign receive, use, or share any information from the voter roll Ms. Rafanan purchased on Aug. 10?

I did share the voter roll Marcia purchased. This is not a violation of any law per the Political Reform Act of 1974. I would encourage you and your readers to review California Code of Regulations 19001 thru 19013. A volunteer called the State to confirm that using the same list was acceptable and the State confirmed the purchase of another list was not required as we were using the same unpaid volunteer for our mailers. They referred the volunteer to the California Code of Regulations.

About the laws cited here. Mayberry points to two things:

• The Political Reform Act of 1974 is California's campaign-finance and conflict-of-interest law, administered by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). It begins at Government Code § 81000. Overview: https://www.fppc.ca.gov/the-law/the-political-reform-act.html
• California Code of Regulations, Title 2, §§ 19001–19013 are FPPC regulations. Read them through the FPPC's regulations index: https://www.fppc.ca.gov/the-law/fppc-regulations/regulations-index.html — and the full California Code of Regulations is searchable at https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs
• Separately, the Registrar's objection concerns the Elections Code, which governs how voter-registration data obtained from a county elections office may be used. Elections Code § 18109 is the provision on misusing that data: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=18109.&lawCode=ELEC — and the rules on who may obtain the data and for what purpose are in Elections Code Article 5 (beginning at § 2183).
• The Secretary of State's plain-language summary of common Elections Code violations: https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/fraud-complaints/pdfs/common-elections-fraud-violations.pdf

Q: Did you have any knowledge of, or involvement in, the anonymous Facebook posts about the registration before they appeared?

I had heard rumors concerning the couple's voter registration, but I had no involvement in the anonymous Facebook posts.

As you are aware, I have also been the subject of similar accusations regarding my own voter registration. An individual you are familiar with made allegations against me on Facebook and contacted the City Manager, City Council members, and others.

I am remodeling a home and moving into it prior to the election. In the meantime, I have been living in another property I own on the same block, both of which are within city limits. I listed the remodeled home as my primary residence on the application.

Despite these circumstances, I was accused of voter fraud. The parties contacted by this individual repeatedly advised them that no fraud had occurred.

This is precisely why I have concerns about accusations being made and circulated on social media before the facts are established.

About the law here. The accusations referenced are about voter registration — whether a person is registered where they are entitled to. California law on registering somewhere one is not entitled is Elections Code § 18100; the related residency rules for voters are in Elections Code §§ 2020–2035. Read the Elections Code at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=ELEC

Q: Is there anything you or your campaign wish to say to voters about this?

Again, I hope Fort Bragg voters won't let this ongoing rock-throwing affect their votes for anyone. They need to look at each candidate's record, community contributions, and experience, and base their votes on facts.

Q: Would you say you're running alongside Councilmember Rafanan?

I would not say I'm running "alongside Council Member Rafanan." Rather, I would say that, of those running for re-election, I appreciate the fact that she is a longtime resident who shares my passion for this community.

She understands the struggles many Fort Bragg residents face and was one of two Council Members who voted against the water and sewer rate increase because she knows that many residents struggle just to pay their rent.

She and I share some of the same views and understand these types of struggles because we have either experienced them ourselves or witnessed them firsthand through our careers and years of living in this community.

I believe my time as Chief of Police and my prior involvement in this community have more than proven to the citizens of Fort Bragg who I work for. It's not about political party; it's about the people of Fort Bragg.