VENTURA : Candidate Found Not to Hold Degree

One of the first candidates to announce a campaign for the Ventura City Council never received a degree from the New York university he claimed he did, officials at the college said Thursday.

Oxnard marketing manager Stephen L. Hartmann has said that he received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of the State of New York, an extension college in Albany that caters to military personnel.

College officials said that Hartmann was enrolled between 1983 and 1985, but that he never earned a degree. What’s more, the Albany campus does not offer a journalism program.

“I do have him [listed] as being enrolled, but not having received a degree,” said transcripts official Susan Antonacci. “It happens all the time.”

Hartmann, 32, said Thursday that he did not know he never earned a degree. He said that Navy counselors who were supervising his education assured him that he had graduated.

“It’s kind of ironic because I was working on a ship during the day, then going to classes and working part time at night,” Hartmann said. “Everything seemed legit to me.”

Navy officials said Thursday that they do not keep education records for more than three years, and could not discuss Hartmann’s file.

Hartmann served in the Navy between 1979 and 1984 before taking a civilian job at the Department of Defense. He worked as Ventura’s publicist for five years before accepting his current job as a marketing executive at an Oxnard health products company last year.

Hartmann said he does not consider his lack of a degree an issue in the campaign.

“If someone wants to draw the conclusion that I’m trying to mislead somebody, that’s their right I guess,” he said.

Hartmann and computer technician John S. Jones are the only two candidates so far to announce campaigns for three council seats up for grabs this fall.