Sikh political action committee launches narrowly focused attack on Singh-Allen; Independent barrage against Ly continues

Unlike other elections since 2012 when Elk Grove voters started directly electing their mayor, 2020 has seen an unprecedented involvement of independent expenditure committees. 

In recent days, a mailer has been sent to what appears to be a narrow set of voters opposing Bobbie Singh-Allen who is one of two candidates challenging Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly. That audience is voters who are members of the Sikh religion. 

A reader who is of the Sikh faith shared a copy of a mailer they said that was received in the last couple of days from a group calling themselves American Sikh Political Action Committee. The mailer touches on a number of items with the main focus on a sensitive topic for many Sikh voters - the 1984 Sikh Genocide.

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The mailer says "Bobbie Singh-Allen's alliance with genocide deniers is inconsistent with her claimed intention to represent Sikhs." Additionally the piece ties Singh-Allen with Rep. Ami Bera, who has endorsed and contributed cash to her campaign, who a set of Sikh voters are upset with over his unwillingness to acknowledge the 1984 genocide in India which by some estimates led to the death of up to 30,000 Sikhs.

An informal survey of some non-Sikh Elk Grove voters found none had received the mailer. It is not known how widely the mailer was distributed and a review of Singh-Allen's contributors shows many campaign donations with family names associated with the Sikh faith. 

The American Sikh Political Action Committee has not filed California Form 496 expenditures disclosures with the Elk Grove City Clerk's office as of yesterday. The mailer contains the names of nine people. 

In other independent expenditure committee activity, the California Association of Realtors distributed another mailer opposing Mayor Steve Ly. This mailer (see below), titled Three Strikes, highlights harrassment claims, a request for a Sacramento County Grand Jury Investigation, and Ly's acceptance of poltical gifts.

In the 2018 election, Ly was targeted by an independent expenditure committee although it did not affect his ability to win reelection. Althought the American Sikh PAC does not overtly support Ly, it is the first time a third party has formally waded into to an election that would support him by attempting to weaken an opponent.

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