By Alberto Garcia
Investigative Reporter

One of the largest labor unions in the county sent out a campaign mailer to voters in Chula Vista claiming that a City Council candidate was rated “unacceptable” by the local Democratic Party but the Party did not take any such action.

The mailer falsely claimed that former Chula Vista Councilman Rudy Ramirez had been “Rated Unacceptable” by the San Diego County Democratic Party while endorsing his opponent, local school board member Cesar Fernandez. Both Ramirez and Fernandez are registered Democrats.

Rudy Ramirez

 

"This mailer is a lie to voters and damaging to the election process," Ramirez said. "The Laborers International union should apologize to voters for misinforming them right before an election."

The misleading mailer was paid for by the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 89, which has become the most powerful political force in San Diego County after spending over $600,000 earlier this year to take over the local Democratic Party’s Central Committee.

The mailer included a citation from an article on the online news outlet Voice of San Diego, but the article does not state that the Democratic Party took that action.

"A caucus of local Democratic clubs allied with Fernandez voted at a recent meeting to declare Ramirez unacceptable,” the article stated.

The action that was taken was only a vote among the Democratic Party’s South Region caucus which makes recommendations to the full County Democratic Party’s Central Committee that is made up of elected and appointed members from throughout the County.

The Central Committee never took up the recommendation of the south area caucus, rendering their vote meaningless.

The misleading campaign mailers were in support of Cesar Fernandez, a current member of the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board. Fernandez was first appointed to the Board to fill a vacancy then was elected to a four-year term in 2022.

Cesar Fernandez

 

Fernandez was exposed in March for having lied about a previous felony conviction for selling drugs. When asked about the conviction, Fernandez told La Prensa San Diego that he had only been convicted of a misdemeanor which was later expunged from his record.

La Prensa San Diego later confirmed the conviction had been a felony and that Fernandez avoided prison time by agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors. After completing years of probation, Fernandez petitioned the court to reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor before the conviction was later removed from his record.

When confronted by La Prensa San Diego about the felony conviction, Fernandez said he did not remember whether he had been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, yet he has had to document his criminal record to obtain his current teaching credential.

Fernandez is a teacher in the Sweetwater Union High School District. 

The LiUNA Local 89’s local leader, Valentine Macedo; his son Valentine Macedo, Jr., the local’s Vice President; and their Policy & Community Engagement Director Kelvin Barrios, were all elected to the Central Committee in the March Primary Election.

LiUNA uses local political consulting front Margin Victories, owned by Jehoan Espinoza, and political consultant Jesus Cardenas to run its campaign activities.

Cardenas, along with his sister, Andrea, were both charged and convicted of two felonies each for fraudulently applying for and spending a $176,000 COVID-era federal loan and for illegally filing for unemployment benefits in 2020 while they were both being paid to run campaigns.

Jesus Cardenas, second from left, and Andrea Cardenas, right, in court.

 

Andrea Cardenas served on the Chula Vista City Council from December 2020 to February 2024 when she resigned days before pleading guilty to two felony counts.

Fernandez used Jesus Cardenas and Margin Victories for his 2022 election, and Cardenas was instrumental in orchestrating the appointment of Fernandez to the school board in 2021.

After their indictments, both of the Cardenas siblings were removed as members of the Party’s South Area caucus and Central Committee in December 2023.

The election between Ramirez and Fernandez is for the same seat previously held by Andrea Cardenas.

LiUNA Local 89 did not respond to a request to comment on this story.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated Jesus and Andrea Cardenas remained members of the Party’s South area caucas. The article has been updated.