Election’s New Date May Aid Better-Known Candidates

Gov. George Deukmejian’s decision last week to move up a special election for the vacant 50th District Assembly seat has turned up the heat on prospective candidates.

The new Feb. 7 election date--two months earlier than previously announced--gives candidates only until Dec. 27 to declare their candidacy. An earlier election is expected to favor well-known candidates who already have a political organization and contributors.

Among those who fit that description is Curtis Tucker Jr., son of the late Assemblyman Curtis R. Tucker, whose death in October forced the special election. The candidate has the all-important political and financial backing of Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

It was pressure from Brown that spurred Deukmejian to take the unusual step Friday of rescheduling the special election to fill the vacancy. Only 10 days ago the governor set the primary election for April 11, with a runoff June 6, if necessary. His amended election dates are Feb. 7 and April 11.

Under the provisions of the special election, if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary, the top Democrat would face the top Republican in a runoff that is termed a “special general election.”

So far, only Democrats have expressed interest in running in the heavily Democratic district.

Tucker, an aide to Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), is expected to garner endorsements from several top Democrats. On Friday, he was endorsed by popular Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

Other potential candidates who appear to have the resources and name recognition to mount accelerated campaigns are Los Angeles City Councilman Robert Farrell and Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent.

Farrell said Friday that he plans to make a decision this week. Vincent has said he plans to run, but he could not be reached for comment about the new election date.

Tucker said he sees Vincent and Farrell as his strongest potential opponents.

With the filing deadline for the new election just nine days away, another possible candidate, political consultant Roderick Wright, said Friday he would reevaluate his bid. Wright, a veteran of black politics who has worked for several of the likely candidates, had sought the support of Brown and other Democratic leaders, saying Tucker was not entitled to the seat merely because of his name.

Wright said he now has no doubt that Tucker has Brown’s strong support and said the change of election date will make Tucker hard to beat.

Date’s Significance

“It could end up that there’s only one person in the race,” Wright said. Tucker, he explained, “almost becomes an incumbent. If only one person has any resources, he just wins. The date change makes a lot of difference.”

Tucker said he supports an earlier election. “It’s best for the constituents,” he said Friday. “It means they’ll have representation in Sacramento a whole lot sooner.”

The district encompasses El Segundo, Inglewood, Lennox, Westchester and parts of South Los Angeles, and 77% of its voters are Democrats. More than half of the predominantly black and Latino district’s 147,520 registered voters live in Los Angeles.

Farrell, who observers say has been leaning toward a bid, said Friday that the new election date does not hurt his prospects. The April runoff, if it occurs, will be the same day as the Los Angeles mayor’s election.

In a previous interview, Farrell appeared convinced he would be a strong contender, saying, “If I enter, I win.”

Lesser-known hopefuls may find themselves hard pressed to stay in the suddenly shortened race, particularly because of campaign financing restrictions in the newly passed Proposition 73, which takes effect New Year’s Day.

Those changes severely limit the amount of money a candidate can receive from a single source. Although candidates could receive unlimited contributions in the past, those mounting a special election campaign in 1989 will be permitted no more than $1,000 per election from an individual and $2,500 from a political committee, unless the committee has existed for at least six months and has more than 100 members, in which case it can give $5,000.

Lois Hill-Hale, an Inglewood school board member and one of the first to announce interest in the Assembly seat, said she will still file for the office this week, although “the new election date comes as a shock. . . . It benefits everyone who has a lot of money stored up.”

Other potential candidates include Inglewood City Councilman Danny Tabor and Ed Johnson, an aide to Rep. Julian Dixon (D-Los Angeles). They could not be reached for comment.

Times staff writer Jeffrey L. Rabin contributed to this story.