FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno City Council District 1 candidate Naindeep Singh Chann, also known as Naindeep Singh, is speaking out after a political mailer sent to voters accused him of driving under the influence, despite police later determining the allegations were unfounded.
The mailer was distributed one day after Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto announced that Singh tested negative for drugs at the time of a traffic stop. Casto also said she apologized to Singh.
According to Singh, he learned about the flyer when a resident contacted him. The mailer, which was paid for by Fresno Healthy Communities, was sent to voters less than a week before the Nov. 3 election.
“When I saw the image, it made all kinds of, at this point, false allegations, to which I’ve been completely exonerated,” Singh said.
The flyer stated in fine print that the image used was only an illustration. Singh described it as “Completely a deep fake, which is very scary that this is what people are stooping to here at the local level.”
The mailer accused Singh of “swerving through the Tower District” and “driving under the influence of drugs.” Singh disputed that claim.
Thomas Holyoke, a political science professor at Fresno State, said the allegations could still have an impact on a close election.
“It might not be a huge hit, you know in a competitive race, any hit like this is going to be harmful to him,” Holyoke said.
In a statement, Fresno Healthy Communities said:
Since entering the mail system, Mr. Chann’s police-administered toxicology test returned a negative result for drugs, clearing allegations made by the Fresno Police Department regarding the alleged criminal conduct.
Fresno Healthy Communities retracts the allegations made in the mailer, as the Fresno Police Department confirmed that those allegations were ultimately unfounded.
But Holyoke said the retraction may not erase the effect of the mailer.
Singh’s opponent in the District 1 race, Rob Fuentes, said in a statement on social media that the mailer did not come from his campaign and that he unequivocally condemns it.
