Environmentalist Will Not Seek New Congressional Seat

Kevin Sweeney, an environmental activist and Democratic strategist who helped several slow-growth candidates win local office, announced Friday that he will not run for Congress in Ventura County’s new congressional district.

Sweeney said his sudden change of heart came about primarily for personal reasons. The 33-year-old bachelor plans to move to Venice, Calif., this weekend with his girlfriend to be closer to her work.

“It is clearly not the right time in my life to run for public office,” said Sweeney, who once was a campaign strategist and spokesman for Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart of Colorado.

“When I was with Hart, I promised myself I wasn’t going to get involved in politics on the national level until my personal life was a little more settled.”

Sweeney’s departure leaves Anita Perez Ferguson as the lone Democrat to challenge Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) in the new 23rd Congressional District that encompasses Carpinteria and all of Ventura County except Thousand Oaks.

“I’m excited to have a clear go right now,” Ferguson said. “I’m going to concentrate entirely on Gallegly and his voting record.”

But the county’s Democratic leaders said they might draft another candidate to compete with Ferguson for the Democratic nomination.

Last year, Ferguson angered many members on the county’s Democratic Central Committee and party activists by vowing to run for Congress even if it meant challenging her former employer, state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) or Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria).

Although both lawmakers dropped out of contention for Congress, some Democratic Party insiders acknowledge that they resented her challenge of Hart and his political organization, which helped her get started in area politics.

Sweeney said Ferguson’s unyielding determination should not be held against her. “She said she was running all along and look what happened. Gary Hart’s not running. Jack O’Connell is not running. And I’m not running.”

In general, Sweeney said, “It’s not bad for the party to have contested primaries. The winner comes away with new stature and prominence.”

Gallegly said Friday he had little to say about Sweeney abandoning the race. “I don’t know enough about Kevin Sweeney to make a statement about him one way or the other. I know even less about Anita Perez Ferguson, except that she has been a Ventura County resident for less than a month.”

No matter who runs against him, Gallegly vowed to mount a full-throttle campaign fueled by $375,000 he has raised so far. “I’m not going to rest on my laurels,” he said.