Kemp, Wife Plan to Visit on Her Birthday

Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp and his wife, Joanne, will celebrate her 61st birthday in her hometown of Fillmore on Friday.

“This is fantastic news,” said Mayor Roger Campbell, who was informed Monday of the Kemps’ visit. “We’re the most happening place in the whole county.”

The Kemps are scheduled to arrive by train in downtown Fillmore at 12:30 p.m., officials said. Jack Kemp will then deliver a speech from the back of the train car.

“It’s going to be a whistle-stop rally,” said Rock Zierman, a local field representative for the Dole-Kemp campaign.

The event will include food booths and live entertainment, with festivities to begin at 11 a.m. But the public is advised to get there early for good parking and security clearances, officials said.

Karen Kurta, chairwoman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, said her organization has been pushing hard for a Kemp visit. The committee was successful in helping to arrange a visit by presidential nominee Bob Dole last month.

“It’s neat that Ventura County is the hometown of Joanne Kemp,” Kurta said. “It gives us an extra leg up.”

Joanne Kemp grew up in Fillmore and graduated from Fillmore High School. Her mother, Lois Main, still lives in the city.

Meanwhile, Kurta said her committee is lobbying for another Dole visit, this time at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. She said the city would make a great backdrop for an issues-oriented visit focusing on crime because it is one of the safest cities in the country.

“We’ve kind of been passed over before,” she said. “With a more active push and a can-do attitude, at least we’ve convinced the state party to look at us.”

For Fillmore, this is the third time a nationally prominent political figure has visited the city, Campbell said. In 1960, then-Vice President Richard Nixon visited as he campaigned for president. Robert Kennedy visited the same year while campaigning for his brother, John.