Former PVE City Council Candidate 'Mystified' By Claims In City Email

PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CA — A city email that went out last week to residents of Palos Verdes Estates accused a former City Council candidate and a resident group of sending newsletters disguised as official city communication.

Desiree Myers and PreservePVE, the subjects of the city's email, said the city's claims were false and confusing because the newsletters don't include any city seals and clearly display the PreservePVE name multiple times throughout the email.

"It's mystifying to me because PreservePVE is clearly stated at the top of the email, it doesn't use any city seals, it doesn't claim to be from the city, and it's branded eight times in the newsletter," Myers said. "We're mystified what their motivation is."

The city's email claimed the PreservePVE newsletters, of which only two have gone out so far for March and April, were created to support Myers' campaign efforts. However, Myers contends there is no connection between the newsletter and any campaign efforts. She ran for City Council in 2022 but lost the election.

PreservePVE's newsletters are created by residents of Palos Verdes Estates for residents, Myers said. The two newsletters that have been sent to subscribers, so far, include city updates such as job openings in the city, updates on City Council agenda items and general facts.

"[PreservePVE] asked Mayor Roos twice to identify any information that was opinion over fact and any information that mentioned my name or did any campaigning. To date, he has been unable to identify any of those items," Myers said.

According to City Manager David Ready, Myers and PreservePVE submitted a public records request to get the list of all the people who were signed up to receive the city's newsletter. Myers explained that PreservePVE never submitted a public records request and members never saw that email list. Rather, they were requested for a separate reason and were never used for PreservePVE's subscriber list, she said.

"I am the one that requested the emails because I was investigating what was going on with a huge amount of emails that were used in a smear campaign last fall. The emails they sent me were never used," Myers said.

Myers said PreservePVE was motivated to create its newsletter because the organization and its members believe there is an information gap between the city and the residents. Myers believes the city's official newsletter leaves out critical information that residents need to know to stay up to date with what is happening in the small city.

Since the city email was sent, Myers said many people have reached out to her and PreservePVE in confusion, and subscribers for the organization's newsletter have risen in response. PreservePVE collects its own subscriber list via consensual sign-ups on the organization's website, requests through emails, signup events and canvassing.