Chula Vista City Council candidate John McCann filed a lawsuit today against a trade union he says defamed him in a political mailer.
McCann claims the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, distributed the mailer last week saying he was “sentenced for felony.”
McCann served on the Sweetwater School District board with four other members who were convicted in a widespread corruption scandal that included Sweetwater District president Jim Cartmill. He was the only member not indicted.
“Chula Vista deserves better,” McCann said at a press conference on Thursday. “The negative campaign that the special interests that are supporting my opponent and my opponent’s negative campaign is something that is turning people off.”
He is running against former Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla in the City Council race. Padilla said he received the mailer and didn't see anything inaccurate.
"I think what this entire lawsuit and press conference says is that John is running from his time at Sweetwater," he said. "Just because he was not indicted does not mean he wasn’t part of the culture of corruption in this community."
McCann said he wants to focus on other issues in the area, such as his controversial plan to put a two-month moratorium on the toll on State Road 125.
