LOCAL ELECTIONS : MALIBU CITY COUNCIL : TV Figure Gene Wood Quits Race

Television game show announcer Gene Wood, one of 30 candidates running for a city council seat on the Malibu incorporation ballot, has decided to abandon his campaign after being advised by CBS officials that his appearance on “Family Feud” might require the network to provide equal broadcast time to his opponents.

“I could have taken an unpaid leave of absence until after the election (June 5), but considering how much it would have cost, I decided to withdraw instead,” said Wood, who has notified the Los Angeles County registrar’s office that he no longer wants to be considered a candidate.

However, county Registrar-Recorder Charles Weissburd said Thursday that ballots have already been printed and it is too late for Wood to withdraw. “We have advised Mr. Wood that we still consider him a candidate,” Weissburd said.

Informed of the news, a CBS lawyer said the network no longer considers Wood a candidate and would not be obligated to provide broadcast time to Malibu candidates, if any should request it.

“He has expressed his withdrawal publicly, and to the media, and we no longer consider him a candidate,” CBS attorney Sandra Williams said. “We don’t view it as a problem.”

Wood, who is also an announcer for “Classic Concentration,” which appears on NBC, said the issue came up almost accidentally last Sunday during the taping of “Family Feud,” when the show’s producers disqualified a contestant from Ohio after learning that he was a judicial candidate there.

“In the banter accompanying it, somebody said, ‘Wait a minute, what about Gene? Isn’t he running for something out in Malibu?’ and the next thing you know, I’m out,” Wood said.

Williams said that Wood voluntarily agreed to bow out of the race after discussing the matter with her and others at the network earlier this week.

In the June election, Malibu voters will choose five city council members at the same time they decide whether the unincorporated seaside community becomes a city.

By law, the Federal Communications Commission requires that if a political candidate appears in a broadcast, the broadcaster is required to provide equal time under the same conditions to other candidates. Officials at CBS said that even if the provision applied to Wood, it probably would affect only KCBS (Channel 2) in Los Angeles, which is the only CBS network affiliate received by viewers in Malibu.

As the show’s announcer, Wood is seldom seen on “Family Feud,” although he recently appeared on camera for about a minute in each of five shows scheduled to air next week, he said.

Officials at CBS acknowledged that even the sound of his voice would likely be enough to qualify as an appearance under the FCC guidelines, triggering the equal-time provision if Wood were to continue as a candidate.

“It’s rather humorous when you think about it,” said Wood, 64, who appeared with Bill Dana as part of a comedy team in the 1950s before becoming a game show announcer.

“It’s hard to see ‘Family Feud’ providing equal time to a couple of dozen city council candidates from Malibu,” he said. “I guess we’d have to split them up and let them play the game.”