Board of Trustees candidate Len Jarrott has advertised some people as endorsements who never endorsed him, said Trustee Joan Livingston in a Nov. 20 interview.
“This is a college issue,” she said. “This is also a Foundation issue.”
Stephen Hahn, a retired local art dealer and City College Foundation Board Member, was listed in an Oct. 17 advertisement as one of Jarrott’s campaign endorsers. His name also appears in one of Joan Livingston’s reelection campaign pamphlets.
During a phone interview, Hahn said he remembered a phone call from Jarrott, buthe said did not remember giving Jarrott an endorsement.
“My wife endorsed Joan and also signed my name,” he said, referring to the endorsement cards Livingston uses to verify each of her endorsements.
Jarrot said the majority of his endorsements are in writing, though some are verbal and others are through email. He also said that at the time it was too late to take Hahn’s name off of the advertisement before the News-Press deadline.
Jarrott said Hahn gave him an endorsement over the phone, but that he didn’t yet know Jarrott was challenging Livingston. After talking it over with his wife, Hahn decided to endorse Livingston.
“It was a total mistake,” Jarrot said.
Livingston also said that Harold “Rusty” Fairly, a former city councilmember and City College emeritus faculty member, told her that he and his wife Lynda, who is vice president of continuing education, decided to stay neutral. Fairly was listed as an endorser on Jarrott’s Oct. 10 campaign advertisement.
Fairly could not be reached for comment.
Jarrot said that he did receive a verbal endorsement from Fairly. He said while he and Fairly were gridlocked side-by-side in traffic at the intersection of Cliff Drive and Meigs Road he asked Fairly if he would endorse him and Fairly said he would. He also said that Fairly’s wife Lynda was present at the time.
“I never had any reason to think that he changed his mind,” Jarrot said. “He has never called me back to retract that.”