Yaroslavsky asks Shriver campaign to stop using ad

Retiring Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky asked Bobby Shriver to stop using an ad that he says creates the false impression that he has endorsed Shriver over rival Sheila Kuehl in the hotly contested Westside race to fill his seat.

Yaroslavsky referred to an ad inserted into some editions of the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that shows a portrait of Yaroslavsky with the words “Who shares his values?” On the opposite side of the insert is an image of Shriver with his family and the text, “Bobby Shriver does!”

The insert then cites a series of quotes attributed to Yaroslavsky, taken from various news articles, that appear to praise Shriver. Yaroslavsky said he felt obligated to issue a statement denying an endorsement after several people called his office to ask about it.

“I have absolutely NOT endorsed either candidate in this supervisor’s election,’’ Yaroslavsky’s statement read. “Yesterday’s Times insert is obviously the Shriver campaign’s effort to create that impression.”

Bill Carrick, Shriver’s chief political consultant, disagreed that the ad suggests that Yaroslavsky had endorsed in the race.

“We took quotes that were in the public record and used them,’’ Carrick said. “It is very accurate. We are telling the voters that Bobby has the same values as Zev.”

Carrick said Kuehl had distributed a similar ad in the primary with no pushback from Yaroslavsky. But Parke Skelton, Kuehl’s campaign consultant, said his candidate’s ad “wasn’t similar at all.”

It quoted a number of people talking about Kuehl, including Yaroslavsky, he said.

He called Saturday’s ad “a despicable effort by a desperate campaign to mislead voters.”

“We demand that the Shriver campaign take immediate steps to correct the false impression that his advertising has left and that he apologize to voters for attempting to trick them.”

Shriver said Yaroslavsky has not directly reached out to him or his campaign, and that he would withhold comment until he talked to the supervisor.

Yaroslavsky, in an interview with The Times late Sunday, said dozens of people asked him about his “endorsement” of Shriver at two events he attended over the weekend.

“These were regular people, not sophisticated campaign workers who can read between the lines,’’ Yaroslavsky said. “This clearly conveyed the impression that I was endorsing him and I have to let people know that I am not.”

In the primary, Kuehl sent out a mailer that “comes close to doing the same thing,’’ Yaroslavsky said. But Kuehl’s ad, while quoting him, made clear that he was neutral in the race, he said.

The election is Nov. 4. Yaroslavsky is leaving the board due to term limits.

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