Candidates in 50th Assembly District Race Run Up Against the Tucker Legacy

In death as in life, the name of Assemblyman Curtis R. Tucker dominates the 50th Assembly District, where four candidates are running in a special election Tuesday to replace the late Inglewood political patriarch.

The Tucker name has helped give the former assemblyman’s son, Curtis R. Tucker Jr., a widely acknowledged lead over fellow Democrats Lois Hill-Hale, an Inglewood school board member; Carl McGill, a Los Angeles police officer, and Republican Mike Davis, a business consultant.

The younger Tucker, 34, a legislative aide to Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), hopes to carry on the 14-year legacy of his father in the 77% Democratic district encompassing El Segundo, Inglewood, Lennox, parts of South-Central Los Angeles and Westchester.

Key to Tucker’s candidacy is the support of Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), who has kept the strongest potential opponents out of the race and given Tucker an enormous fund-raising lead. As a result, other candidates have criticized Brown and accused Tucker of being a low-profile, unqualified puppet.

“The real issue of this campaign is whether the people of this district will allow Sacramento fat cats to decide who their leader will be,” Hill-Hale said recently.

Tucker, who would provide the Speaker with the crucial 41st supporting vote in the 80-member Assembly, calls the Brown issue a smoke screen. He says his connections to top Democrats will make him more effective in dealing with the pressing issues of crime, health care and the environment in this predominantly black and Latino district.

“They’re just saying what they have to say to try and tarnish me,” Tucker said. “We’ve gotten good response from the voters.”

Qualifications aside, Brown’s political muscle-flexing on Tucker’s behalf is a lesson in how much can be done to win a campaign before it starts.

The elder Tucker, who rose from the Inglewood City Council to Assembly Health Committee chairman, often said he wanted his son to succeed him. The assemblyman died of cancer last October, but it was too close to the election to remove his name from the ballot and he won the first posthumous legislative victory in state history against the GOP’s Davis.

A special April election was set, stirring predictions of a spirited battle in the black political community for a rare open seat.

But the wheels were already turning for Curtis Tucker Jr. He had received a deathbed transfer of $28,000 in seed money from his father’s campaign fund. And when the assemblyman died, Brown immediately declared his support for the younger Tucker and stuck to it despite overtures from other hopefuls. In a dramatic display of Brown’s interest in the race, Gov. George Deukmejian in December acceded to a direct request from the Speaker and changed the election date from April to February.

That left potentially strong candidates such as Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent, Los Angeles Councilman Robert Farrell and Inglewood Councilman Daniel Tabor--who had unsuccessfully challenged the elder Tucker in the June primary--with little time to organize. Despite Tabor and Vincent’s protestations that Tucker was not entitled to the seat because of his name, all three remained on the sidelines. Farrell endorsed Tucker.

Oddity of Format

In an oddity of the special election format, the candidates run together on a single ballot. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote Tuesday wins outright. If no one wins more than half the vote, the top vote-getters from each political party--in this case only the Democrats and Republicans have candidates--will meet in an April 11 runoff.

So far, Tucker has raised about $143,000 and spent more than $95,000 on literature and a well-organized campaign run by local political consultants and Sacramento operatives. Although this is the first race to be conducted under contribution limits set by Proposition 73, a December infusion of cash from the medical industry helped Tucker build an initial war chest of $56,000 before that law went into effect on Jan. 1.

In contrast, Davis had raised $11,000 as of Thursday, he said. Hill-Hale and McGill both initially filed disclosure statements saying they expected to raise less than $1,000, but Hill-Hale estimates that she has raised $10,000.

Dropped Out

Inglewood political consultant Roderick Wright will also appear on the ballot, but he has dropped out of the race.

Tucker’s money, name recognition and endorsements suggest that his main obstacle could be extremely low voter turnout for the off-season election. As few as 26,000 of the district’s 145,000 registered voters are expected to vote. Traditionally consistent Republican voters in the western part of the district could therefore have a disproportionate presence and help Davis, who is running for the third time.

And opponents say Tucker will be harmed by voter resentment of Brown’s perceived meddling in the race. Tucker has missed several candidate forums, claiming illness, and opponents accuse him of hiding from the voters behind his money and Sacramento clout.

“People are speaking out against nepotism,” said Cretia Davis, organizer of an Inglewood group of Hill-Hale supporters called The 50th District Voter Revolt. “There’s going to be a backlash.”

Upset Scenarios

Those pushing upset scenarios cite the recent electoral defeats of two well-financed political offspring: Edward Waters, son of Assemblywoman Maxine Waters, who lost a 1986 election bid against former Assemblyman Paul Zeltner (R-Lakewood) in the 54th District, and Deane Dana III, son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana, who was beaten by incumbent Gerald Felando (R-San Pedro) in last year’s 51st District Republican primary.

The difference, however, is that Tucker is not challenging an entrenched politician. Rather, he is portrayed as the logical heir to a beloved incumbent.

“It’s like a halo effect,” said one Inglewood elected official who is known for being in tune with the political mood of the community. He said he resents the process behind Tucker’s candidacy but accepts victory as inevitable.

Tucker said he is not concerned about his opponents.

“We’re just trying to get our people out to the polls,” he said. “That’s our major concern.”