Fourth in a series

Re “Dear Draws the Ideal Profile for a City Clerk”

[img]2877|right|Jim Dear||no_popup[/img]Carson Mayor Jim Dear, running for city clerk in next March’s municipal election, says his old Gardena High School classmate Basil Kimbrew is opposing his candidacy because the current city clerk is black, as is Mr. Kimbrew, and Mr. Dear is white.

Mr. Kimbrew, among other ventures, leads the California Friends of the African American Caucus site. They endorse black and white political candidates, and the common thread is their liberalism.

“Basil bases everything on race,” Mr. Dear charges. “It is an unpleasant aspect of his psychology.”

[img]2878|left|Doneshia Gause||no_popup[/img]After more than a decade as mayor of Carson, Mr. Dear asserts that he is running for the much lower profile city clerk’s desk because he will bring “professionalism” to the job.

Doneshia Gause, the first black to be city clerk since Carson was incorporated in the 1960s, was appointed when Helen Kawakoe fell ill after serving for 37 years.

Mr. Dear has emphasized that Ms. Gause was not elected and has implied that her qualifications are questionable.