Democratic Party Letter Against LaRouche Candidates Ruled Illegal
LOS ANGELES — A Democratic Party letter seeking funds to defeat candidates espousing the political philosophy of Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. violated state election laws, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
Los Angeles County Democratic officials this month sent more than 5,000 of the letters to the party faithful, warning, “The same people who believe Walter Mondale is a drug pusher and KGB agent have sworn to take over our Democratic Party at all costs.”
Democratic officials have identified 24 LaRouche candidates running as Democrats and Republicans for nominations to the U.S. Senate, 16 congressional seats and 7 Assembly seats.
Money is needed, the Democratic letter said, to allow wider distribution of the party’s county newspaper that lists the candidates.
Kushro Ghandhi, West Coast coordinator for LaRouche’s National Democratic Policy Committee, sued the party’s county committee, its chairwoman and editor of its newspaper Friday, asking for more than $1 million in damages and an order barring the committee from opposing any candidates in a partisan primary.
Judge Warren Deering ruled that the letter was illegal and ordered that no similar mailings be repeated.
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