LIVERMORE — Something smells in Livermore.

And it likely has to do with politics.

During a Wednesday evening fundraiser at Uncle Yu’s restaurant for the pro-Measure P “Vote Yes for the Bankhead Hotel” campaign, someone threw something over a waist-high wooden fence into a patio area, triggering a foul stench that spoiled the dinner and live band performance.

Rachael Snedecor, executive director of Downtown Livermore Inc., said she heard a “pop” sound and then saw people start to back away from where the band was playing in a corner.

She spotted a silver package on the floor oozing a white liquid substance. The word caution was written on the back of the package.

“In today’s climate, that kind of stuff isn’t funny. We have to be on high alert,” Snedecor said, adding she initially thought they might have to evacuate.

A volunteer eventually turned the package over with a fork to expose a label that read “Fart Bomb.” It’s advertised on Amazon as a stink bomb that “creates a foul odor by puncturing the small bag inside.”

“Prank your friends with these fun Fart Bomb Toys!” reads the description.

Mayor John Marchand, who made an appearance at the fundraiser attended by about three dozen people, said Friday he’s dismayed by how Livermore politics have turned.

“I’ve been involved in Livermore politics for over 30 years, and I have never seen it descend to this level,” he said, comparing the incident to an act of terrorism where a public gathering is attacked.

“This community has been deliberately torn apart. It’s very sad and it’s very troubling. Livermore is better than this,” he said.

Snedecor said one woman saw what appeared to be an adult walking by seconds before the package was flung.

“In a civil community, you would think some kids did it,” she said.

But she said the timing and location of the stink bomb was “a little too perfect” to pin on impish children.

“This felt like an intentional target,” she said, adding it’s “sad” this would happen in the community because of politics.

Tammy Reus, who has been active in the Protect the Central Park group that helped get Measure P on the ballot, insisted that neither she nor anyone connected to the No on Measure P campaign had anything to do with it.

“We do not condone such behavior and have not directed or encouraged or suggested to anyone that they engage in such behavior. Anyone who does something like this is acting entirely on their own behalf and is not connected to the No on P campaign,” she said in an email statement Friday.

She added that the campaign is “strictly focused on getting out the facts to show the voters that the Central Park Plan is the better plan for Livermore and they should vote No on P.”

The Measure P campaign also has been marked by reports of vandalism on hundreds of campaign signs throughout the city, with some signs being cut in half or thrown to the ground.

Snedecor said they’ll be on “high alert” at the next event.

“I never thought I would have to worry about my safety before,” Marchand lamented.