A secret recording dispute between Woodland Hills City Council candidates Tim Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan has drawn accusations of illegal recording and unethical campaign conduct just days before the June 2 primary election.
Three residents are competing to replace termed-out City Councilmember in District 3. Now a secret recording dispute between two of those candidates has drawn accusations of illegal recording and unethical campaign conduct just days before the .
The controversy centers on a video showing a post-debate conversation between candidates Tim Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan. The clip was posted in the private Facebook group Crimebusters of West Hills and Woodland Hills, a neighborhood community group with nearly 16,000 members.
Worth Girvan said she believed the debate had ended and the microphones were off when Gaspar approached her. She said the exchange was private and that Gaspar spoke to her in whispered tones.
"The recording happened without my knowledge or consent after the debate ended, when our debate microphones were off, and no one was paying attention to what we were saying," Worth Girvan said in a text message. "He was talking to me in whispered tones at least 10 feet from anybody else."
Worth Girvan said she later learned the exchange had been posted online and argued the recording violated California's two-party consent law. She said the incident undermined public trust in the campaign process.
Gaspar's campaign disputed that characterization. Campaign officials said the interaction took place onstage immediately after the debate while recording equipment remained visible in a room open to the public.
"Like every single debate, it was audio and video recorded, in a room open to the public with a clearly visible sign indicating attendees may be recorded or photographed," Gaspar said in a statement.
Gaspar said he wore an open microphone on his lapel with a green light indicating it was recording. He said the one-minute conversation happened in front of multiple attendees and debate hosts.
The post-debate exchange focused on comments Worth Girvan had made in a campaign video criticizing Gaspar's ties to Councilmember John Lee. Lee was fined $138,124.32 last year by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission over allegations that he accepted undisclosed gifts and misused his position while serving as chief of staff to then-Councilmember Mitchell Englander.
Worth Girvan said she acknowledged previously seeking Lee's endorsement before learning of the ethics case. She maintained that nothing she said in the exchange was inaccurate.
The video posted online interspersed clips from the post-debate exchange with footage from earlier debates and campaign videos. Captions on the video read "I confronted Barri in person over this claim" and "accountability matters for our district."
Gaspar's campaign denied intentionally releasing the recording publicly. Officials said the clip "was not an official campaign communication" and blamed "an unfortunate error by a volunteer" that was "immediately corrected."
Worth Girvan disputed that explanation.
"His video opens with 'I confronted Barri,'" she said. "This was no mistake."
The third candidate in the race, Christopher Robert "C.R." Celona, publicly criticized the recording. Celona accused Gaspar of engaging in unethical political conduct and argued the recording violated California law.
"What happened to Barri is wrong, period," Celona said in a statement. "Campaigns should be about ideas, leadership and solutions for the future of Los Angeles, not political traps, secret recordings and weaponizing private conversations for personal or political gain."
District 3 encompasses Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Winnetka and Tarzana, as well as the rapidly growing Warner Center district. The last time the seat was open was 2013, when Blumenfield defeated then-Councilmember Dennis Zine, who was term-limited after 12 years in office.
The three candidates are aligned on some issues but divided on others:
Gaspar leads in campaign contributions and holds endorsements from Blumenfield, billionaire developer Rick Caruso, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Tim McOsker and John Lee.
Worth Girvan has endorsements from County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, the county Democratic Party, the Federation of Labor and the Sierra Club.
Celona trails far behind in fundraising but has positioned himself as a pro-business candidate focused on fast-tracking film permits and cutting red tape for the entertainment industry.
The June 2 primary will determine whether these three advance to a general election or if one candidate secures more than 50% of the vote and wins outright.
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This article was generated with AI assistance.