Citing violations of its National Constitution and Local Unit Bylaws, multiple sources we interviewed said the 105-year-old Pasadena NAACP Chapter office filed a formal complaint with the National Office of the NAACP in Baltimore, MD, last week alleging election irregularities against successful presidential candidate Brandon Lamar.
All board positions on the November 21 ballot were single candidates running unopposed except for the office of President. Lamar subsequently received 111 votes, and his opponent, Ron Matthews, received 76 votes from the 475 eligible voters in good standing. There were four abstentions.
LNP observed a steady stream of members filing into the Pasadena NAACP Chapter office on November 26 to sign the petition. The formal complaint was sent via registered mail to the Baltimore office on the same day.
Authorized under Article 10, Section 3 of the Chapter Unit Bylaws states:
3. (Complaints) A complaint against an officer or member of a Branch of the NAACP may be initiated by any 20 members of the affected Branch and must be signed by such members and forwarded to the National Office and to the attention of the President and CEO as well as State/State-Area Conference. The National Office may seek input from said State/State-Area Conference on the complaint. The complaint must include the officer or member’s mailing address.
Multiple sources confirm the Pasadena Branch complaint had 25 signatures. LNP has reached out to the National NAACP Office for comment but, as of press time, has not received a return call.
Possible outcomes of the complaint may include disqualifying candidates, revoking memberships of all members involved, calling for another election, revocation of the branch charter or doing nothing.
The last time there was such a controversy in the Branch was in 1987, when the National Office of the NAACP ordered the Pasadena chapter to resolve a contested election by holding a new election to settle a dispute between the two candidates for president. The controversy began after incumbent Stephen Mack defeated John Kennedy by only four votes in the December 14, 1986, election. Kennedy challenged the results, saying the polls were closed two hours early and some votes of eligible members were not counted. In February 1987, the National Office of the NAACP ruled the election invalid. Kennedy subsequently won the new election, which was held in April 1987.
Specifics of the current complaint allege that Brandon Lamar and his campaign violated Article 10 of the chapter bylaws, as well as Article 10 of the Constitution of the National NAACP, including:
- a)unauthorized public statements that depict the Branch, its members and the election process in a negative light;
- b) an unauthorized vote held by the supervising election committee without the full committee being present;
- c) breaches of confidentiality via email chains to members and nonmembers discussing closed-session branch business and branch leadership;
- d) unallowable third-party or non-member involvement.
The complaint alleges the Flintridge Center was used as a satellite site for Pasadena NAACP Chapter members to get information about voting, information and assistance in how to use the NAACP electronic voting system. It also alleges members received phone calls and text messages from non-member third parties endorsing a candidate and circumventing the internal NAACP process.
NAACP National Office has a detailed procedure in their Bylaws for Units document to enact procedures for the review of elections:
…where the President and CEO of the National Office is satisfied that there is danger of irreparable harm to the Association or Unit involved and that immediate action is necessary, he may order an officer or member suspended pending a full hearing if requested by the respondent.
There are additional procedural requirements and deadlines in the National Office document. If the National Office pursues a complaint, the entire process could take months to resolve, allowing for the receipt of documents, timely responses from all parties, conducting the investigation, rendering determinations, making recommendations and findings and optional hearings and appeals.
An additional issue may be reflected in a National NAACP resolution adopted in 2022, whereby branch officers must resign from any City elected or appointed positions. Depending on the results of the inquiry, Lamar could be required to resign from his position on the Pasadena Rental Housing Board unless the branch decides it is not a conflict of interest.
Anonymous sources also confirm notice was given to Lamar from the State of California NAACP office informing him it appears that he is in violation of the NAACP policy and bylaws, taking complaints or concerns to the public without first presenting concerns to the NAACP National and awaiting resolution of those concerns. The notice references comments Lamar made to the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper, alleging community members may have found his comments harmful to the NAACP image. The notice additionally references a flyer regarding the Flintridge Center event.
President-elect Lamar replied to our LNP request for comment.
“The election is over,” and “Thank you for sharing this. This is the first I’m hearing of these allegations. I have no comment at this moment,” wrote Lamar.
