Why did Stanislaus County taxpayers get letters stamped ‘Lets Go Brandon’?
A right-wing political slogan was printed on the envelopes of more than 500 letters sent to taxpayers in Stanislaus County.
The envelopes were stamped with the slogan “Lets Go Brandon,” an anti-Biden slogan that is circulated on social media.
An internal email in the Assessor’s Office is instructing employees to apologize to people who contact the office and explain it was a printing error by an outside vendor.
Officials with the Assessor and Treasurer-Tax Collector offices said Friday the error was made by ABS Direct in Modesto, a private business that handles mailing services for the county offices.
A Modesto man, who shared a picture of one of the envelopes, with “Lets Go Brandon” stamped on the flap in red lettering, said Thursday that a neighbor was given the same explanation when she went to the Assessor’s Office.
“I am appalled someone in that office would do something like that,” said Al Boese. “The people working there can have any political beliefs they want, but sending that to taxpayers is totally wrong.”
The Assessor’s office stressed the inappropriate stamp on the envelopes was made by a private vendor that contracts with the county.
A California law prohibits local officials from using taxpayer money for political campaigns, and use of public resources such as funding, staff time and equipment for political purposes is illegal, according to the government ethics center at Santa Clara University.
According to the Know Your Meme website, the Internet meme “Let’s Go Brandon” originated from a viral video of NASCAR driver Brandon Brown doing an interview after winning the NASCAR Xfinity series in October 2021. In the video, the crowd is heard chanting “F--- Joe Biden,” which was misinterpreted by the newscaster as “let’s go Brandon.”
Some political conservatives, often in support of former President Donald Trump, have since used the phrase to denounce and poke fun at President Joe Biden.
Elected county officials long have said their positions in county government are nonpartisan. But local political party organizations on both sides have endorsed candidates for county offices. The political expression on the property-tax envelopes may add to perceptions of partisan influence.
“It’s a very unfortunate incident,” Treasurer-Tax Collector Donna Riley said Friday. “We are nonpartisan offices, and to have that message go out and possibly offend some residents is unacceptable. We regret it happened. It was out of our control.”
Assessor Don Gaekle said the slogan was put on 544 pieces of county mail, about a quarter of 2,000 letters sent for the Assessor and Treasurer-Tax Collector’s offices early this month. He said the county offices were notified by ABS on July 5 there was an inappropriate message on 25% of the mailing.
The Assessor’s Office letters were notices about supplemental taxes on property that changed ownership or had new construction. The letters from the Treasurer’s Office were notices of default on property taxes and also collection notices from the county’s revenue recovery operation, Riley said.
“We have been doing business with (ABS) for a long time,” Gaekle said. “They have taken responsibility and we are working with them on a letter of apology for affected taxpayers.”
Gaekle said his office received a complaint by phone and he confirmed a person came to the office to ask about the message on the envelopes. Riley said her office had received no complaints.
The county offices are asking ABS to refund costs of the mailing, about $238, and also pay for sending the apology to taxpayers. The apology will be sent to the 2,000 people in all who received the letters, as it’s not possible to isolate which letters bore the message.
The county is talking to the vendor to make sure it doesn’t happen again, Gaekle said.
“Stanislaus County does not condone messaging like that,” Gaekle said. “We are working to apologize to the taxpayers.”
How it happened
Pam Bizzini, a co-owner of ABS Direct in Modesto, said it was an accident rather than someone’s attempt to convey a political message. The company also has a facility in Sacramento.
It occurred when an employee volunteered to work on a Saturday to process a mailing over the July 4th weekend, so the letters could be taken to the post office on the weekend and delivered the following Tuesday.
The employee turned on a machine that puts a metering stamp on envelopes and can also stamp a message like “Happy Fourth of July.”
Bizzini said a different employee, who had recently been learning to use the new machine, had inputted the message “Lets Go Brandon”, as a joke during the training. The message was in the machine and was stamped on envelopes when the letters were processed that Saturday, Bizzini said.
“We know (which employee) and it was dealt with internally,” Bizzini said. “It is not what the company condones. It was deactivated immediately.”
She would not say whether the employee was still working for the business. “We have people from diverse backgrounds working for us. It was a good lesson in not doing anything as a practical joke,” Bizzini said.
The co-owner said ABS Direct has contracted with the county for 35 years, processing mail with metering stamps and bar codes, so the county gets a discount on mailing costs. “In 35 years, we have never had an issue. It is very unfortunate and we rectified it right away,” she said.
County Board Chairman Terry Withrow said Friday it was an unfortunate mistake. “It was unfortunate that happened and there is nothing we can do about it,” Withrow said. “We need to make sure it does not happen again. We will make sure there are safeguards in place where it won’t happen.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 2:01 PM.
