Indio City Council member Michael Wilson spent $5,000 on campaign mailers asking voters to choose “anyone but Councilwoman Lupe Ramos Watson” this year, reports the Desert Sun. Sometimes getting along with others is hard.
The mailer, which was received by residents of the city on Thursday, also said Ramos “cannot be trusted with taxpayer dollars.”
“I’ve taken the hits for 12 years and I finally decided I’m not going to take it anymore,” Wilson told the newspaper. “I’m going to get it out there to the public and then let them make the decision.”
He says he has documentation to back up his case.
Watson, who has been serving on the council since 2004, called the mailer “false, slanderous and retaliatory.” She also said she is exploring her legal options.
The Desert Sun notes that the two have been at it for years now over things like her decision to eliminate prayer from council meetings and that time she alleged he tried to run her off the road:
In 2015, Ramos Watson testified under oath in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed against the city by former Indio Water Authority general manager Debra Kaye. Although Wilson was not named in the complaint, Ramos Watson alleged that he had tried to run her off the road during her first run for office in 2004, an incident that had left her “traumatized.” She never filed a police report. Wilson denied it.
Should Ramos win reelection next Tuesday – not a given with how much money is being poured into two other candidates by just one man – the next city council meeting should be interesting.
