2 Stake 40th-District Claims : Jarvis Endorsement Stirs GOP Squabble

When Brian K. Dennis, a Republican candidate in the 40th Assembly District, opened his mail Friday, he said he was shocked at the contents of a mailer he received from his GOP primary opponent, Bruce Dahl.

The mailer contained a picture of Dahl with Howard Jarvis displaying the caption, “Howard Jarvis supports Bruce Dahl for state Assembly.” The envelope said, “Enclosed important message from Howard Jarvis.”

Dennis claims that Jarvis is endorsing him.

Joel Fox, executive director of Jarvis’ California Tax Reduction Movement, verified Dennis’ claim. “We’re a little upset that Howard was used like this,” Fox said.

However, Dahl, the owner of a Van Nuys wallpapering business, said his mailer never specifically states that Jarvis endorsed his candidacy. Dahl maintains that Jarvis agreed to support his campaign even after endorsing Dennis because he did not realize Dahl was in the race.

“Howard supports my campaign and has given me his complete blessing,” Dahl said.

Dennis, a tax preparer and real estate and insurance broker, insists that Dahl’s campaign literature is misleading. “I think there is a fine line and this crosses it,” he said.

GOP primary opponents are also squabbling over the accuracy of campaign literature in the 26th Congressional District race.

Kenneth Frazier, president of a nonprofit foundation that acquaints minorities with the value of the free enterprise system, said his opponent, Robert M. Kerns, is claiming that Robert Thoreson, another GOP Assembly candidate, has endorsed him.

Thoreson, a Los Angeles police detective, said he has not endorsed anyone in the race. Both Thoreson and Kerns agreed that the endorsement claim stemmed from a misunderstanding.