CAMPAIGN ’88 : Latvian for Bush Quits

The chairman of Latvians for Bush has stepped down from his post in the wake of allegations that he belonged to a World War II group with Nazi ties, George Bush’s campaign announced Thursday evening.

Akselis Mangulis, who was also a volunteer with the vice president’s Coalition of American Nationalities, has “suspended his membership” in Bush’s ethnic group, said Alixe Glen, a spokeswoman traveling with the Republican presidential nominee.

Mangulis is the eighth person connected with Bush’s ethnic council to step down after reports of connections to Nazi or anti-Semitic groups.

Editors at the Philadelphia Inquirer said Thursday night that they were planning a story on Mangulis’ membership in the Latvian Legion, a group that had connections to the German SS, the quasi-military unit of the Nazi Party, for today’s editions.