ELECTIONS / CARSON : She Praised Fajardo, but Did She Endorse Him?

Did Carson Councilwoman Juanita McDonald endorse the council campaign of Pete Fajardo?

No, McDonald says.

Yes, Fajardo says, and he has been telling people as much.

The dispute arises from the councilwoman’s comments at a Fajardo fund-raiser almost four weeks ago in front of several hundred of his supporters. According to Fajardo, McDonald expressed support for his bid for a council seat--statements that he and others viewed as a clear endorsement.

But McDonald, a Democratic candidate in the state’s 55th District Assembly race, denies ever making a formal endorsement. That kind of endorsement, she said, would only have been made in writing.

“I said what I tell all the other candidates--that I’ll be willing to work with them if they are elected and am glad that they are running,” McDonald said. “If that’s an endorsement, then I’ve endorsed seven or eight candidates.”

Still, some of those who attended the Feb. 29 fund-raiser said they too got the impression that McDonald was endorsing Fajardo.

“She did get up there and say that she would support him (Fajardo) and that he was qualified,” said Connie Hathaway, chairwoman of Homeowners Against Rent Decontrol, a mobile-home residents’ lobbying group. “Why would she step down from that? It doesn’t make sense.”

In a videotape of the fund-raiser, provided by the Fajardo campaign, McDonald gave a speech in which she praised Fajardo’s leadership.

“In this new decade, it’s important that your voices be heard in saying that you want new leadership,” McDonald said. “It’s important that, as we go into the 21st Century, that you have a leader with vision. That is what I see in Pete Fajardo.”

Fajardo said he interpreted that as an endorsement but he has agreed to stop saying that McDonald backs his campaign--given her current position. He accused McDonald of backing off from her support because of pressure from members of the black community, who he said would prefer McDonald’s endorsement of three blacks running for a council seat in the April 14 election.

“She can’t stand the heat,” Fajardo said. “She can’t stand the pressure. That’s not a good trait to have in a politician.”

McDonald angrily denied the charge, saying she has endorsed only council candidate Kay A. Calas.

Calas, an incumbent, is also rebutting a Fajardo claim that Calas is endorsing him too. “That’s not true at all,” Calas said. “I’m only endorsing Kay Calas.”

Fajardo campaign manager Ralph Caracoza called the Calas remarks puzzling. “I don’t understand that at all,” he said.