Manhattan Beach City Council Candidate Responds To Email Claims

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA —

Dear Friends,

I didn’t think I would have to send an email like this, and surely not so early in the campaign. But there are emails from Russ Lesser, Lucia Ames, and Mike Michalski that are sweeping through our community and are intentionally misrepresenting me and I won’t stand for it.

Manhattan Beach deserves better than this. Let’s fight back against this ugliness and divisiveness.

Their emails claim that the "far left" is working to elect me and that “I’m no moderate.” But that’s how I view myself. I am fiscally conservative and will work to protect our tax dollars. I also believe in supporting our schools, protecting our environment and preserving our quality of life, which people from across the political spectrum share as community priorities.

They say I am a “member” of “Anti-Racist Movements.” I signed up for their Facebook page to learn more about what they are all about. Let me be clear, I do not support ARMS’ demands, and specifically, I do not support paying reparations for Bruce’s Beach, however I am open and receptive to other forms of restitution. I do support the recent Council decision to form a task force to convene public discussions about Bruce’s Beach and to help our community productively address the issues of race and systemic racism.

Another lie they are propagating is that I want to defund the police. I have never said that nor would I back any effort to do so. Specifically, they say that I want to remove police from our schools. Check out my website where I state the importance of keeping school resource officers in place. They also accused me of attacking Chief Abell, which is not true. I said that we need to listen openly rather than defend our own positions, which is something I witnessed the Chief doing during a recent community townhall. I support our Manhattan Beach Police Department and think they do a terrific job.

They claim that in my kick-off video that I said there is no crime in Manhattan Beach. To be clear, I said that Manhattan Beach is a safe place to live and I referenced a recent MBPD report that indicated that crime statistics were tracking to last year’s averages and were not on the rise. This point was reinforced when I attended “Coffee with a Cop” on August 27th where the police officers also reported this to be the case.

Frankly, the most disturbing comments in the emails are their attacks on my husband Bill Fournell, a life-long resident of Manhattan Beach who has served for 13 years on the Manhattan Beach School Board. I’m incredibly proud of the work he and his fellow board members have done on behalf of all of our children and our schools.

I’ll say it again: The reason I am running is that I love Manhattan Beach and care about its future, and I am committed to serving all of our residents.

I am also committed to running a positive campaign and will not stoop to spreading lies about my opponents.

Please help to counter these attacks by sharing this among your friends and neighbors. I want people to know the truth. Encourage them to visit to my website grettellfournell.com. Whether they decide to vote for me or not, they should at least know the truth.

Thank you for helping to set the record straight. Your support means the world to me.

Let's do this, Manhattan Beach Brighter days are ahead!

Grettel

And please, tell your friends why you support me.

• I am a fiscal conservative who will protect your tax dollars. For 17 years with Ernst & Young I helped clients develop and implement financial, process and customer service systems to save money and deliver better, more efficient customer service to their clients. I am ready to go to work for the City of Manhattan Beach to ensure we save every dime and answer every call.
• I will fully fund MBPD and keep MBFD local.
• I am the only candidate with decades of experience working with our schools and district, relationships across our schools and the endorsement of every member of the school board, who can enhance our partnership with MBUSD, especially in light of the recent difficulties.
• For nearly 30 years I have committed myself to public service in Manhattan Beach as an Ambassador with Manhattan Beach Sister City Association; Executive Board on the PTAs of Grand View, MBMS, and Mira Costa; serving on the MBUSD District Advisory Council; leading nearly 1,000 Junior Sandpipers in philanthropy; serving with Sandpipers, the Manhattan Beach Youth Council, Girl and Cub Scouts as well as youth sports teams.
• And as the mother of 4 children, I am running to ensure the next generation enjoys strong schools, a healthy environment, a thriving business community, and safe, clean streets.