Candidate’s Role as Grand Marshal of Parade Called Unfair

Democratic Party activists in the Santa Clarita Valley have protested the appointment of Republican congressional contender Howard P. (Buck) McKeon as grand marshal of a local “frontier days� parade.

McKeon, a banker and clothing retailer, is scheduled to ride in a convertible at the head of the parade sponsored by the Canyon Country Chamber of Commerce. The annual event, set for Saturday, typically draws 2,000 to 3,000 spectators.

McKeon is vying in the 25th Congressional District with Democrat James H. (Gil) Gilmartin, a Santa Clarita attorney, and independent Rick Pamplin, a Palmdale screenwriter and Ross Perot backer. The 25th District encompasses the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys and parts of the northern San Fernando Valley.

David Cochran, president of the Democratic Club of the Santa Clarita Valley, complained that McKeon’s position in the parade allows him to showcase his campaign before a large crowd of potential voters.

“The chamber’s actions amount to a very political endorsement and advertisement for candidate McKeon,� Cochran said in a letter to chamber President Jack Watkins. Cochran urged Watkins to either remove McKeon as grand marshal or “provide equal opportunity� for Gilmartin.

Watkins declined to drop McKeon. The chamber invited McKeon to be parade leader, he said, because he is a 20-year chamber board member and longtime civic activist.

“Regardless of whether he’s running or not, we’re proud of him and we’re not going to penalize him,� said Watkins, noting that McKeon has served as mayor of Santa Clarita and as a local school board member.

Watkins denied that McKeon’s role as grand marshal gives him any political advantage, insisting that “all chamber activities are nonpartisan.�

But he acknowledged that the chamber did not specifically invite Gilmartin and Pamplin to participate in the parade, saying they signed up for it on their own initiative and will appear further back in the parade line.