COUNTYWIDE : Kemp to Speak at Fund-Raising Fete

Jack Kemp, the Bush Administration’s secretary of housing and urban development, will speak at a fund-raising dinner in Oxnard on Thursday to benefit the reelection campaign of Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura).

Kemp, a former congressman and presidential candidate, will be the second prominent Republican to help Lagomarsino raise money for his reelection campaign. Vice President Dan Quayle was the featured speaker at a fund-raising breakfast last month in Santa Maria.

“He’s running,” said John Doherty, Lagomarsino’s press secretary. “At least, he’s preparing to run.”

Kemp’s appearance at the fund-raiser is another sign of the widely anticipated rematch between Lagomarsino and state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara). In 1988, Lagomarsino defeated Hart in a close race that developed into the costliest campaign in the nation.

Neither politician has made an official announcement of candidacy. Each says he is waiting to see how the state Legislature redesigns congressional districts to reflect population changes measured by the 1990 census.

At a news conference Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown said one of seven new congressional districts in California would be a “coastal district” based in Santa Barbara. He offered no other details. New district boundaries are supposed to be unveiled in September.

Meanwhile, Kemp will help Lagomarsino raise campaign donations at the $100-a-place dinner at the home of Dave and Marcia Donlon in Oxnard. For a $500 donation, Lagomarsino supporters may chat with Kemp at a private reception before the meal.

Kemp was a quarterback of the Buffalo Bills and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.