Oro Valley's mayoral campaign is embroiled in controversy over a candidate's unauthorized use of the town seal in his campaign literature.
Mike Zinkin mailed about 7,100 postcards in late April bearing his picture, the trademarked seal and information about his affiliation with Oro Valley committees and other citizen groups.
The mailers, which arrived in households about the same time as early ballots, prompted various complaints, Town Clerk Kathryn Cuvelier said.
The campaigns of Zinkin's opponent, Satish Hiremath, and Town Council candidate Joe Hornat were among those that filed complaints.
The seal is a trademark of Oro Valley, and its use is prohibited in campaign materials, Cuvelier wrote in a letter to Zinkin's staff.
"Such use might create the false impression that a candidate is being endorsed by the town or otherwise affiliated with the organization," Cuvelier wrote in part, quoting from a campaign manual given to all candidates.
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Misleading voters was not his intention, Zinkin said. "It was an adornment for the card - that's all," he said of the seal.
Zinkin called his use of the seal - which he requested and received from the town's Communications Department - an oversight.
"I made a mistake … and I apologize to the citizens of Oro Valley and to the town," Zinkin said.
Hiremath noted that all candidates running for a council seat received campaign handbooks months before the March primary election clearly stating that using the seal is off-limits.
"I find it very difficult to believe that all of a sudden it's an innocent mistake," he said.
Zinkin's mailer "was a contrived, controlled marketing piece," Hiremath said.
The Hiremath campaign filed a complaint with the town on April 29, contending Zinkin's mailer was deceptive and had violated state laws, an action that calls for a civil penalty. By then, Town Attorney Tobin Rosen had concluded that Zinkin's postcard had violated only the town campaign rules.
The town asked Zinkin to discontinue use of the seal, and Zinkin said he pulled 3,000 campaign mailers at a loss of about $1,200.
"I made a mistake, and I paid for it," he said.
Oro Valley voters will go to the polls on May 18 to elect a new mayor and two Town Council members.
Contact reporter Lourdes Medrano at lmedrano@azstarnet.com or at 573-4105.
