Retiring Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has asked Bobby Shriver to stop using an ad that he says creates the false impression that he has endorsed Shriver over rival Sheila Kuehl in the hotly contested Westside race to fill his seat, it was reported today.
Yaroslavsky referred to an ad inserted into some editions of the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that shows a portrait of Yaroslavsky with the words “Who shares his values?” On the opposite side of the insert is an image of Shriver with his family and the text, “Bobby Shriver does!”
The insert then cites a series of quotes attributed to Yaroslavsky, taken from various news articles, that appear to praise Shriver.
Yaroslavsky said he felt obligated to issue a statement denying an endorsement after several people called his office to ask about it, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“I have absolutely NOT endorsed either candidate in this supervisor’s election,’’ he said in a statement. “Yesterday’s Times insert is obviously the Shriver campaign’s effort to create that impression.”
But Bill Carrick, Shriver’s chief political consultant, disagreed that the ad suggests that Yaroslavsky had made an endorsement.
“We took quotes that were in the public record and used them,’’ Carrick told The Times.