LAKEWOOD MAYORAL CANDIDATE RITA BERTOLLI HARASSED AT ANNUAL BELMAR ITALIAN FESTIVAL

Continuum Developer Security Guards Threaten To Remove Candidate From Public Premises

LAKEWOOD--What should have been a fun family outing at BELMAR's annual Festival Italiano for Lakewood Mayoral Candidate Rita Bertolli turned into discord when festival security guards threatened to kick her supporters off public sidewalks outside of the event.

According to witnesses, BELMAR security guards near the event at West Alaska Drive near Wadsworth and Alameda Avenue approached Bertolli's supporters four times telling them to leave the public sidewalk catty-corner to Whole Foods.

"We were outside of the Festival area, standing on the public street with our flyers," said Mike Burns, a supporter of Rita's race. "Continuum's security guard came up and told me that he received a message over his radio to ask 'those campaign people' to leave. We recorded their fourth harassment attempt on video, it was so ridiculous."

Bertolli was surprised, she said, by the guards' ignorance of first amendment rights regarding public right of ways.

"Harassing me outside a community event is just ridiculous," said Bertolli, a first-generation Italian-American. "If I can't feel safe going to these public events in my own hometown to celebrate my cultural heritage, what's next?"

Bertolli's campaign coordinator Serry Winkler said she was not surprised by these tactics.

"This city administration and their developer friends just don't get it. They believe they are above the law and can ignore or censor citizens."

"I called Lakewood PD who verified that we had every right to be there," said Bertolli. "Developers seem to think they own Lakewood. This is the mentality we are going to change."

Bertolli made headlines in January when she and a group of Lakewood Citizens collected more than 4,000 signatures on a referendum to stop the City of Lakewood from trading Forsberg Park to Canadian-based developer Carma. The petition triggered a citywide special election in January 2007 that stopped the measure to swap the parkland.

To contact Rita Bertolli's mayor campaign, please call 303-863-8836.