POMONA - A series of campaign mailers supporting Councilman Elliott Rothman in his run for mayor are being decried by several city leaders, including the police chief.

Among other issues with the mailers, Chief Joe Romero says they suggest he has endorsed Rothman, which is not the case.

"As chief of police, I endorse no political candidate," Romero said Friday.

"My position is that would give the appearance I am beholden to a political candidate," when his commitment is to the public trust, he said.

"The truth is that I endorse no one - particularly that I don't endorse Elliott Rothman."

Rothman said he doesn't know who put out the mailer, but he did receive a copy of it. As he saw it, Romero's inclusion in the mailer isn't an endorsement.

"I didn't see it that way," Rothman said, adding that if Romero had any concern about the mailer he would have heard about it. "He didn't have anything to say about it."

At least two versions of the mailer were distributed to registered voters, one containing an endorsement for Rothman from Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014, and the other containing the union's endorsement of Councilman Steve Atchley, who is running for re-election in District 6.

Citizens For A Safer And Greener Pomona sent out the mailer, which is designed to resemble a news publication and called "Pomona's Better Times."

It lists crime figures for murders, rapes and robberies in thfalse endorsemente city during 2006 and 2007, but fails to give any numbers for the current year.

The mailer quotes firefighter Paul Rusin saying Rothman will fight crime and work with Romero to ensure traffic checkpoints continue, but are done fairly.

Rusin, a director on the executive board of the Local 1014, could not be reached for comment.

Romero said the information in the piece is misleading.

"In this particular piece they make a point to talk about a crime surge when in reality that's only a half truth," Romero said. "The other part of the story and the full truth is in 2008 we're at a rate to set the lowest homicide record in 30 years."

So far this year, there have been 11 homicides in the city, police said. There were 27 in 2007, according to FBI crime statistics.

The focus should go toward keeping that number down, Romero said.

Seeing his photograph and information used in such a way was disturbing, he said, but "what is more upsetting is the continued use of crime statistics as the fodder for campaigns."

The mailer quotes without citation the city's Web site where Romero says it's a blessing to lead the city's police department.

Romero said, while he does consider it a blessing, "with that blessing I've found one of the most disgusting things I've had to deal with as chief has been Pomona politics."

Councilman George Hunter is also the focus of some of the mailers. He raised the issue Thursday night during a forum for the city's mayoral candidates organized by the Pomona Chamber of Commerce.

The mailer accuses Hunter of mismanaging The Artisan, a more than 200-unit mixed-use development on downtown's West Second Street.

The development firm, Watt Communities, completed a market analysis recently and opted to hold off on construction until market conditions improve.

The mailer accuses Hunter of not doing anything about the vacant lots where the development will be built.

Hunter said he has joined Raymond Fong, director of the the city redevelopment agency, in talking with Watt officials about the site and how to improve its appearance.

"I've been talking to Watt about what to do," he said, adding that it's only been within the past two months that the firm determined it couldn't move forward with the project at this time.

"To claim that I have something to do with it is absurd," he said.

Rothman said he doesn't think the mailer is a "hit piece," as Hunter described it.

"I don't see it (being) different from other pieces people put out in the past," he said.

In some versions of the mailer, it says Rothman and Atchley will support keeping "all nine" of the city's fire stations open.

The city contracts for fire service with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and there are eight permanent fire stations in the city.

A station at Fairplex, which is only open during the run of the L.A. County Fair or during certain large scale events, could be counted as a ninth station, Butler said. However, the fire department's Web page does not list the Fairplex station among it's facilities.

The city has sought to reduce fire service costs, but "there has been no specific discussion about closing stations in recent budget deliberations," said Rod Butler, assistant to the city manager.

Atchley said he didn't know anything about the mailer.

"I didn't think the firefighters were going to spend any money on my election," he said.

As for the use of the crime statistics, Atchley said he spoke with Romero about them, and said the chief had also pointed out to him the decreased number of homicides this year.

"His point was very well taken," Atchley said.

Atchley said although he didn't pay much attention to the mailer, he could see there could be some concerns associated with it.

Looking back, "I don't know if that flier was a compliment or a distraction," he said.