Hodge

BACKGROUND

In 2010, appellant, who had previously been elected to two terms as a trustee of the Peralta Community College Peralta District (district), was a candidate for mayor of Oakland. On September 29, 2010, the Express published a “Full Disclosure” column

1 All further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure unless otherwise indicated.

1 written by Gammon, entitled The Baffling Mayoral Bid of Marcie Hodge. The column discussed appellant‟s political background as a Peralta board trustee, her prior unsuccessful run for Oakland City Council, as well as her 2010 campaign for mayor, and raised questions regarding whether she was running for mayor as a favor to veteran politician and fellow-candidate for mayor, Don Perata, who, Gammon suggested, was supporting her campaign in an effort to siphon off African-American votes from other, more viable mayoral candidates. On October 5, 2010, appellant filed a complaint for damages against respondents. The complaint included a single cause of action for defamation. Appellant alleged in the complaint that the following statements in Gammon‟s column were false and defamatory:2 “Former state senator Don Perata helped her…