Dear Neighbors,
I am Paul Hornick, Senior Deputy District Attorney in Madera County. I am writing to set the record straight. My opponent paid to create an untruthful radio advertisement/ YouTube video.
Sheriff Jay Varney made a statement that I disagree with and I want to share my version of events. Additionally, Deputy Jessica Martinez inaccurately characterized my actual statement made at a Candidates Forum on Monday, Sept. 24 2018.
First, I will address Sheriff Varney. At the Candidates Forum, I said, “The Sheriff refused to even meet with me and my coworkers before initializing an endorsement.”
The Sheriff states in my opponent’s radio advertisement, “DA candidate Paul Hornick said the Sheriff refused to meet with him, That’s simply not true, I did meet with him for over an hour to discuss his candidacy.”
Before I filed my declaration of candidacy paperwork, I reached out to Sheriff Varney to discuss what his concerns were for Madera County. In January, the Sheriff and I met for about an hour at a local Starbucks, where we shared our thoughts and concerns. There was no discussion of an endorsement, as I had not filed my paperwork to run for office yet.
Shortly before Sheriff Varney decided to endorse my opponent in April, myself and a coworker reached out to him to meet for discussion on an endorsement. The Sheriff was unresponsive to my meeting request.
Secondly, I would like to address Deputy Jessica Martinez. In my opponent’s radio advertisement, Deputy Martinez states, “At the same forum, candidate Hornick said our endorsement of Sally was meaningless. The Men and Women of Madera County Law Enforcement are not meaningless.”
As an Army JAG reservist and a Senior Deputy District Attorney, I have the utmost respect for our Law Enforcement Officers. At the Candidate Forum, my actual statement was, “The Deputy Sheriff’s Association that we keep hearing about is really a phony endorsement folks…” Deputy Martinez confused the words “meaningless” and “phony.”
As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “meaningless” describes something with no real importance or value. To be clear, the views of our men and women in law enforcement are tremendously important and have great value. The word “phony,” however, is used to describe something that is not genuine or real. The true purpose of my statement was to depict the difference between my endorsements and those of my opponent. My endorsements were membership- at-large votes, where the entire Association was allowed to vote after considering both me and my opponent. They voted for me.
The endorsement of my opponent by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association was not a true measure of support because a handful of people were permitted to speak for 100. Furthermore, the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association endorsement vote was taken over two months before I entered the race for DA.
My opponent has taken measures to twist actual occurrences and spin facts. It is unfortunate that she has decided to continue her negative campaign against me. She even stated that I’m not a “real Veteran” because I haven’t served overseas.
What saddens me the most about my opponent’s radio advertisement, is she has grievously gotten her endorsements to follow her down this false path. My hope in making this statement is to inform the citizens of the facts.
Both my opponent’s radio advertisement and Candidate Forum video are posted on YouTube. You can hear my statements for yourself.
Respectfully,
Paul J. Hornick
