Michelle Kile curiously attacked by Felipe Martin in Elk Grove’s City Council District 2 race
As if to validate Elk Grove News’ barstool analysis posted yesterday afternoon on Michelle Kile’s favorable prospects, hours later, we learned of an attack mailer directed at her campaign. Kile, along with Rod Brewer and Felipe Martin, are vying for the Elk Grove City Council District 2 open seat.
The mailer, which came from the Martin campaign, claims Kile had a business called Dauber Ink that was suspended by the California Secretary of State and the Franchise Tax Board. California Secretary of State records show the limited liability company was formed in 2012, and a statement of information was due in January 2014.
However, while the LLC was filed, there are no online indications the business was ever launched. Also, there are no records with the Sacramento County Department of Finance that a fictitious business name was filed which is needed for, among other things, banking services.
Regardless of the status of the business, launching an attack could indicate Martin’s campaign has determined Kile is running better than expected and hurting his standing in the three-candidate race. Alternatively, Martin may have determined attacking Kile, even if she was polling in third place, could attract some votes to his candidacy.
Interestingly, Martin and Brewer have about 10 times the funding of Kile and far more visible campaigns. Also, we have heard from several voters in District 2 that Kile has personally visited or left information.
Martin has been endorsed by Sacramento County Sheriff-elect Jim Cooper and Elk Grove City Council members Stephanie Nguyen and Darren Suen. Brewer has been endorsed by Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, while Kile was endorsed by the Sacramento County Republican party.
Anecdotally, we have spoken with several people who voted for Kile, including registered Democrats and independents. Their reasoning to vote for Republican Kile was her opposition to Elk Grove’s Measure E $23 million annual tax increase, which Brewer and Martin support.
Even if Kile does not prevail, the fact that Martin has chosen to attack her and not Brewer, who has the most significant name recognition of the three, shows she is affecting the dynamics of the race and possibly his candidacy.
