In her May 21 Lakeconews letter, Linda Diehl-Darms "presumes" that a recent postcard sent to District 1 Democrats was responding to a mailer from the incumbent supervisor’s campaign that lists his endorsements.

To the contrary, this communication from the Lake County Democratic Party intends to inform Democrats that the incumbent, a Republican, had purchased advertising space on a commercial slate mailer called "Democratic Voters Choice" mailed specifically to Democratic voters. This mail piece is headed by a number of genuine Democratic candidates starting with President Obama.

The candidate mailed two completely different pieces depending on party affiliation. One, mailed to Republican voters, plainly states that he "does not support President Obama." Why then would he pay to place his name on a slate mailer headed by the president? Why then would he go to the trouble of paying to place his name on a piece of mail that includes Democratic leaders, standard bearers and candidates?

This slate mail piece gives the completely false impression that he, too, has been endorsed by the Democratic Party. This practice is a familiar tool of Lake County’s downticket Republican candidates, in a county where Democrats hold a 13 point registration advantage.

The rights of local political parties to endorse in nonpartisan races is constitutionally protected by a US Supreme Court decision in 1989. The Lake County Democratic Party, the governing body of the party in Lake County, has an endorsement process, as does the Lake County Republican Party. Both parties endorsement processes are legitimate and executed with the intention of informing the voting public on which candidate best represents the values and policy positions of that party.

In accordance with that process, the Lake County Democratic Party is proud to endorse Victoria Brandon for District 1 Supervisor.

Rebecca Curry is chair of the Democratic Party of Lake County, Calif., and campaign manager for Victoria Brandon for District 1 Supervisor 2012.