SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A growing controversy is impacting the race for California’s 48th Congressional District as Democratic candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar faces criticism over claims he wasn't truthful over his military straus in campaign materials.
Campa-Najjar, who has run for political office three times, is under scrutiny for describing himself as a "Navy officer" in campaign ads without specifying his reserve status. Policies state that Navy reservists running for office must accurately state their reserve status.
Marni von Wilpert, a candidate for the same congressional seat, criticized Campa-Najjar's actions.
"Voters want to vote for someone they can trust, and I agree with voters who would be appalled by anyone who is trying to use their military credentials to influence the outcome of an election," von Wilpert said.
Von Wilpert also criticized a picture showing Campa-Najjar in uniform in front of a war veteran's gravesite.
"They’re seeing an opponent who flip-flops on their values and tries to inflate their military credentials to win, I find that unacceptable," von Wilpert said.
Campa-Najjar denies any wrongdoing, and his campaign says accusations that the images were staged are false.
His campaign says they added the Navy Reserve in all of their campaign material once they were notified, but said it was never ill-intended.
Supporters also say the criticism is unfair.
Jim Cassidy, a retired Navy chief petty officer and supporter of Campa-Najjar, defended the candidate.
"Fact of the matter is, he’s a Navy reservist, he’s a naval reserve officer, and he serves, and most people when they find out you’re serving in the military, you get thank you for your service, not a critique," Cassidy said.
Cassidy also addressed the gravesite photo.
"It was a Memorial Day event sponsored by the command he was at and the pictures were taken, how do you ridicule somebody for honoring somebody else's service," Cassidy said.
KPBS reported a few weeks ago that the Navy was looking into the matter. We reached out to the Navy and are waiting for a response.
The newly redrawn district is highly competitive. Voters will get their first say in the June 2 primary election to decide which candidates will move to the general election in November.
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