COUNTYWIDE : NAACP Candidate Told to Keep Quiet

The national headquarters of the NAACP has warned a candidate who ran unsuccessfully for president of the group’s Ventura County branch not to discuss his allegations of election violations with the press.

In a letter to Fred Jones, who tried last December to unseat John R. Hatcher III as president of the Ventura County chapter of the NAACP, a national official said no statements about internal NAACP matters are to be issued to the press unless or until approved by the branch president.

“I am made to understand that no such approval has been granted to you,” the official wrote.

The April 17 letter, signed by William H. Penn Sr., director of branch and field services, said Jones was “using the news media to spread information about the NAACP, without approval of the branch or its president.”

Jones complained to NAACP headquarters in Baltimore shortly after the Dec. 14 election, charging numerous violations of the NAACP code. A Jan. 31 letter from the NAACP upheld the outcome. But a March 4 letter, citing violations, ordered a new election. Both letters were signed by Penn, whose office conducted the investigation.

Jones declined Monday to comment on the most recent letter.

Hatcher, who said he had not seen the letter, also declined comment. But he said new officers have been installed based on recommendations from headquarters.

In the letter, Penn acknowledged that his office “erred by making two rulings on the same election dispute.” However, the letter said there were two sets of allegations.

The NAACP’s national board will make a final ruling on the dispute during its annual meeting in July, NAACP officials said.