Five current and former elected officials have denounced a campaign mailer juxtaposing violent crime statistics with a shadowy figure wearing a hooded garment as a racially-charged example of fearmongering.

“It’s dangerous imagery, and it’s totally unbecoming of an elected leader in Long Beach,” said Councilman Rex Richardson, one of the five local figures who put their names to the statement criticizing the mailer.

The mailer was sent by a Political Action Committee promoting the candidacy of Wesley Turnbow, one of two challengers in the contest to represent Long Beach’s 8th Council District. Incumbent Al Austin and challenger Laurie Angel are also on the ballot.

The ad depicts a spectre-like figure in a parking garage and the figure’s face is hidden in darkness, thus making impossible to determine the person’s ethnicity. The statement from Richardson and the other local figures criticizing the mailer notes, however, that such an image often has racial implications.

“For far too long, the image of young people of color wearing jackets that are commonly referred to as ‘hoodies’ has been used to spread unwarranted fear and division all across America,” the statement reads.

The statement also recalls the death of black Florida 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was reported to have worn such a garment before he was shot and killed in 2012. A jury controversially acquitted shooter George Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges the following year.

When reached for comment Monday morning, Turnbow did not have comment on the controversy.

“I just don’t really have any comment. It’s not my world. It’s not my gig,” Turnbow said.

In a follow-up interview, Turnbow added that the mailer was not part of his campaign.

The advertisement instead bears the name an independent expenditure committee called Long Beach Citizens for Good Government. The mailer’s return address belongs to former Long Beach Councilman Gary DeLong, according to Gazette Newspapers, which is a sister publication of the Press-Telegram.

DeLong, who along with several local business figures has donated to the committee, told the Gazettes that he did not speak for the committee nor have any comment on the mailer, although he did say he had been told the figure in the mailer resembled either “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader or the Ghost of Christmas Future. The latter is often depicted as a frightening character in filmed adaptations of “A Christmas Carol.”

DeLong could not be reached for comment.

Long Beach Unified School District board member Megan Kerr joined Richardson in condemning the mailer, as did former 8th District Councilwoman Rae Gabelich and former 9th District councilmen Steve Neal and Val Lerch.

The city’s 8th and 9th council districts both include parts of North Long Beach, a racially diverse area with a significant black population.

Richardson said the mailer amounted to an example of “dog whistle” politics. Political observers often use that term to describe veiled racist statements that may go unnoticed by audiences of people who are unfamiliar with the potentially offensive connotations of certain words or images.

Austin and Richardson are both black. Turnbow is white.

Although Austin, the incumbent in the 8th District, did not join the statement condemning the mailer, he expressed his disappointment in the advertisement, saying it shows that the people behind the imagery are out of touch with Long Beach politics.

“I think it’s very unfortunate. It’s a distraction from the real issues,” he said.