Judge Rules State Assembly Candidate Anna Bryson Made Illegal False Statement in Her Official Candidate Statement

Sacramento, CA — This afternoon, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang ruled that Capistrano Unified School Board Trustee and current candidate for the California State Assembly 73rd District Anna Bryson made an illegal false and misleading statement in her official Candidate Statement. The judge ordered the Orange County Registrar of Voters to revise the false statement before it is printed and distributed to voters with their sample ballots.

On March 17, 2014, Mission Viejo resident and business owner Dale Tyler filed a petition with the court seeking to have the false statement stricken or revised so that voters would not be misled. 

Bryson made the following statement in her official Candidate Statement, “On the school board, I returned $59 million to taxpayers.”

Tyler argued, and the Court agreed, this was an illegal statement in violation of Elections Code section 13313(b)(2) because it was false and/or misleading. Tyler provided evidence to the Court that Bryson had never returned millions to taxpayers, including Declarations from Ellen Addonizio, current elected member of the CUSD Board of Trustees, and Sharon Campbell, Mission Viejo resident and expert in school district finances (see attached court documents).

Bryson argued her statement was in fact true – and in support of her assertion she offered Declarations from John Alpay, the current President of CUSD Board of Trustees, and Joseph Farley, the CUSD Superintendent. 

It should be noted that in 2010, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kim Dunning ruled that Alpay had made false and misleading statements in his own Candidate Statement.  It should also be noted that it was highly unusual and of questionable legality for a public school district superintendent to utilize school district resources in support of a political candidate (Farley issued a letter in his official capacity and on official CUSD Letterhead in support of Bryson).

Judge Chang dismissed the arguments put forth by Bryson, Alpay and Farley and ordered the false statement in Bryson’s Candidate Statement be revised prior to the printing of the statement in the sample ballot.

Tyler stated, “As a long-time community watchdog and local businessperson, I felt it was my responsibility to set the record straight. Sadly, Ms. Bryson has repeatedly demonstrated she is willing to say and do virtually anything in order to get elected.”

Chad Morgan, the successful attorney who represented Dale Tyler was pleased with the outcome, stating, “This is an important victory for the residents of South Orange County – we needed to protect the credibility of the electoral process and ensure voters were not deceived.”