The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Dave Iwans pleaded guilty Monday to violating campaign advertising laws for fliers distributed to primarily black voters on Election Day in November.
Iwans ran Mayor Will Sessoms' media campaign last year and spent about $1,250 on the fliers, which portrayed Sessoms and Barack Obama together. The fliers failed to disclose who paid for them, as required by state law.
The violation is a misdemeanor and Iwans was ordered to pay the maximum fine of $2,500 plus court fees.
"Unfortunately for Mr. Iwans, the law was very clear on this matter," said Bill Prince, spokesman for Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle Mobley, who was called in to prosecute the case.
Iwans, who owns an advertising and marketing business, and his attorney had argued that the omission of a campaign disclosure on the fliers was an oversight, not a criminal matter. He pleaded guilty to put an end to the case, attorney Moody "Sonny" Stallings Jr. said.
"He didn't think continuing on would help his family or his business," Stallings said. "He heard from his clientele.... While they respect him a lot, they didn't want to keep reading about it."
Iwans has worked on various local political campaigns. His firm handles advertising for the Norfolk International Airport, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center and Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA.
Speaking publicly about the case for the first time, Iwans said Monday he paid for and authorized those fliers because he supported Sessoms and Obama and didn't like the way former Mayor Meyera Oberndorf attached herself to Obama.
"I was very passionate about both those candidates and wanted to see change in Virginia Beach," he said. "I felt black voters needed to hear that change wasn't Meyera riding on the coattails of Barack Obama."
Oberndorf had said she supported Obama in advertising aimed at black voters. Sessoms backed Sen. John McCain.
Monday, the former mayor, whose husband filed the initial complaint against the fliers, said she hopes this case brings attention to the campaign laws.
"It was a question of making sure that in future elections, mischief and misleading the public, won't be tried," Oberndorf said.
Iwans said Bruce Williams, a consultant hired by the Sessoms campaign to reach out to black voters, suggested using a flier several weeks before the Nov. 4 election. The day before the election, Iwans said he ordered the fliers, which were distributed in primarily black precincts on Williams' suggestion.
Sessoms did not know about the flier, Iwans said, adding that he hasn't spoken to the mayor since about two weeks after the election.
"Right now, I imagine he's pretty upset with me," Iwans said. "I owe him a call to apologize."
Iwans said he told Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant, who investigated the case before turning it over to Mobley because of conflict of interest concerns, that he was responsible for the fliers.
"I made a mistake, I owned up to it," Iwans said. "I didn't willfully violate any election law."
Mobley's office disagreed and filed a charge.
Iwans used his own money to pay for these fliers, instead of tapping the campaign's record-breaking war chest, Prince said.
"This wasn't a personal political expression by Dave Iwans," Prince said. "This was intended to deceive voters."
He said Mobley has no plans to seek charges against anyone else because the law is specific to the person who authorized the fliers.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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Sue writes "The problem with
Sue writes "The problem with the situation is that, in spite of the Beach's efforts to mask party affiliation in their Council, Mr. Sessoms is a Republican and Ms. Oberndorf is a Democrat."
So Sue, do you think anyone would have said anything about the flyers had Meyera Oberndorf and Barack Obama been on the fliers instead of Will Sessoms? WOuld there been an outcry? Could that have been interpreted to black voters that Meyera and Barack knew each other or that he had endorsed her campaign for Mayor? Just wondering.
EvanJ may just be venting
EvanJ may just be venting frustration with Campaign Finance Reform from which an unintended consequence is limiting free speech.
From Wikipedia:
The argument is that the purpose of the free speech clause of the First Amendment is the guarantee that people have the right to publish their political views. Under this view, when the laws prohibit people from advocating for or against political candidates by restricting the content or the amount of political advertising, the laws are in conflict with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of political speech.
In my mind, it is an arguable issue.
Ho Hum . . .
. . . nothing to comment on at all.
Don't do business with EvanJ
It is clear to me from the entries in this thread that EvanJ feels that the first amendment gives people the right to say whatever they want, to lie, cheat, and deceive other people in the media, to misrepresent the facts to other people, and to defame and denegrate others. From now on, I feel that it is a mistake for anybody to do busienss with or otherwise trust people named "Evan J" sine it might be this guy.
This is what you get when
This is what you get when you hold a local election during the November national elections. They need to seriously think about returning it to May to reduce or eliminate the party partisanship.
So that's how he won!
I wondered how obama could possibly have won, and now I know!
What is this about really?
What is this about really? This is not just an innocent technicality. Sessoms was trying to con black people into thinking he was a Democrat, and at the same time con white people into thinking he was a Republican.
Free speech
If Iwans wanted to show "his support" he should have distributed the flyer at every precinct.
All that money spent and the polls were probably still close so they essentially cheated-lied to win.
Partisan Affiliation
"Would anything been said if the fiier was of Meyera Oberndorf and Barack Obama and had been distributed to black neighborhoods prior to the election? I'll bet not."
The problem with the situation is that, in spite of the Beach's efforts to mask party affiliation in their Council, Mr. Sessoms is a Republican and Ms. Oberndorf is a Democrat.
fair enough
I definitely dont think jail would be appropriate for this crime. Afterall propaganda is very much part of politics. Look at the Obama campaign. Lord knows it was chuck full of utopian philosophies with the goal being get in, appoint other socialist community organizers, slowly work the propaganda machine to dismantle the Republican party, and wreak as much social chaos as possible before the honey-moon is over.
What's funny is why a so-called Republican like Sessoms and his campaign manager would want to fool good Republican blacks and not make them vote for him?