A retired Central Coast city politician is crying foul following the publication of an article he claims is both defamatory and libelous.
Former Lompoc Mayor John Linn, through attorneys at the law firm Lynberg and Watkins, sent a letter—obtained by the Sun—to the Santa Maria Times, the Lompoc Record, and local columnist Ron Fink alleging that a commentary piece by Fink published by the papers on March 4 had several defamatory statements and false accusations of fraud and deceit.
The opinion piece, titled “Motorsports Park, the Impossible Dream,” blasted a proposed motorsport park on the city’s airport property. The piece alleged that former Mayor John Linn and City Councilmember Jim Mosby misled the community to gain support for the motorsports park. Fink also wrote that the Federal Aviation Administration would not approve the proposed project.
Linn’s lawyers wrote in their letter that “the article, taken as a whole, is libelous,” and pointed to certain portions as “especially defamatory.” His legal team is demanding the article be corrected in several places or retracted entirely.
“According to Mr. Fink’s article, Mr. Linn lied and deceived others when he said that a motorsports park could be built on airport property to convince others to donate their money and time,” the letter to Fink and the newspapers states, before calling the accusation “utterly untrue.”
“Mr. Fink’s accusation rests largely on his assertion that Airport Master Plan and development plans must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) whose officials have already informed the city, and Linn specifically, that non aviation uses would not be approved. This is, again, utterly untrue,” the letter states.
Linn’s legal team asserts that the FAA told him the opposite and that “it would approve a motorsports park on airport property, so long as it did not displace an existing aeronautical use.”
Santa Maria Times Publisher Cynthia Schur declined to comment, saying the matter was under investigation.
When reached by the Sun over the phone, Linn said, “We don’t talk about ongoing legal matters.”
This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 5, 2018.