Tucker Does an About-Face, Bows Out of State Senate Race

Bowing to pressure from Democratic power brokers, Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. said Wednesday that he is dropping his plans to run for a new state Senate seat representing Inglewood, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale and Lennox.

Tucker (D-Inglewood) said House Speaker Willie Brown Jr. and other top Democrats persuaded him to instead seek reelection to the Assembly. They argued that if he ran for the Senate, he would spark an intense primary fight that would consume campaign contributions needed to help elect Democrats in this year’s key Assembly races, he said.

“I decided that it wouldn’t be of any benefit to my constituents if I moved to the Senate and (Democrats) lost control of the Assembly,” said Tucker, 37, who first won election to the Assembly in 1989 after his father, Assemblyman Curtis Tucker, died in office. “I’m more cognizant of the big picture now.”

Tucker declined to discuss whether the Democratic leaders offered to help him run for higher office in the future in exchange for bowing out of the Senate race. He said only: “They all expressed undying gratitude, but I’ll leave it at that.”

Tucker’s decision puts a major crimp in the political plans of Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent, who had intended to run for Tucker’s Assembly seat and has already posted campaign signs along numerous South Bay streets.

Vincent could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Tucker said the Inglewood mayor assured him he will now drop his Assembly bid.

“When Ed put his signs up initially, I told him it might be a tad premature,” Tucker said. “Since he didn’t put a year on them, though, I’d suggest he save them so he can use them in the future.”

Tucker had wanted to compete this year in the newly drawn 25th Senate District, a heavily Democratic territory left unclaimed by an incumbent after state Sen. Bill Greene (D-Los Angeles) announced he was retiring.

Among others running for the seat, however, are 16-year Assemblywoman Teresa P. Hughes (D-Los Angeles). Those pressuring Tucker to back down were Hughes’ supporters, including Brown (D-San Francisco), the Legislature’s black caucus, and the West Los Angeles political organization of Democratic U.S. Reps. Howard L. Berman and Henry A. Waxman.

Tucker said that after hearing their arguments, he concluded that a primary struggle would cost him and Hughes as much as $500,000 each. He said he agreed that the money--from labor unions, lobbyists and other contributors--would be better spent on eight to 10 races in which Assembly Democrats face serious Republican threats.

Democrats hold a 47-33 edge over Republicans in Assembly seats. But some Democratic incumbents have been placed in jeopardy by a once-a-decade shifting of state legislative boundaries that takes effect in this year’s elections.

“They showed me the seats that would be extremely competitive, and they outlined the amount of money we would need for our efforts to maintain the Democratic majority,” Tucker said. “That made their case convincing.”

Tucker’s about-face drew praise from Hughes, who still faces Lynwood City Councilman Paul Richards in the June 2 Democratic primary. She said Tucker would have presented a far tougher challenge.

“I’m delighted to know this,” she said Wednesday. “It’s wonderful news.”

Though Tucker declined to discuss whether Democrats promised him future help in reaching higher office, he said he plans to run for state Senate or Congress when legislative term limits force him out of the Assembly in 1996.

“In four years when my seat’s up, I’ve got no choice,” he said.