Inglewood School Board Member Stages Write-In Campaign for Senate

A respected member of the Inglewood Unified School District board has launched a write-in campaign in the new state Senate district that covers Lynwood, Paramount, Inglewood and Hawthorne.

Lois Hill Hale, a five-year school board member, will officially kick off her campaign later this week, but already she has begun walking precincts and recruiting volunteers in her bid for the June 2 Democratic primary in the 25th District.

“It’s time for a generation of new leadership,” Hill Hale said last week. “People are sick and tired of people in Sacramento just sitting on their duffs and enjoying the titles and not delivering to their constituencies.”

Hill Hale said she planned to enter the race earlier this year but decided against it when Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. decided to run. Tucker later dropped out, but by then it was too late to get her name on the ballot, Hill Hale said.

A former elementary schoolteacher, Hill Hale, 56, is campaigning on a platform of allocating more money to education, retraining people for today’s job market and providing affordable health care for all, particularly senior citizens.

Hill Hale has a tough battle ahead. No candidate has ever won a state legislative seat in a write-in campaign, and Hill Hale must beat Lynwood Councilman Paul Richards and Assemblywoman Teresa Hughes, both of whom have the support of many Democratic leaders. However, she is undaunted.

“I am a person of action,” she said. “All the things people say you can’t do, well, I do them.”

Like father, like son--They are both named Don. They both live in Long Beach. They both like government and hate politics and are staunch Republicans. So, figured Don L. Bullock and his son Don J. Bullock, why not run for office at the same time?

“We are just really close and thought it would be the thing to do,” said the younger Don. “There’s no real deep explanation, just something we thought we would do.”

Don J., 36, an insurance investigator, is running in the 27th state Senate District, which extends from Downey south into Lakewood and along the Long Beach coast. His father, a “60-something” gun show promoter, is running in the barbell-shaped 54th Assembly District, which covers Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro, then skirts along the Long Beach shore into Lakewood and Hawaiian Gardens.

Not surprisingly, both men are running on platforms that emphasize the importance of family. Both will square off against well-connected, well-financed incumbents, but neither is running much of a campaign, choosing instead to rely on word-of-mouth.

“I don’t need to really go out,” said Don L. “I’m rather famous anyway (as a gun show promoter). Most people know how I feel and know I’m a nice guy.”

The elder Bullock has his sights set on higher office. Two years ago, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor. He already is planning another effort. Only this time, he wants to take his son along on the campaign--as a candidate for lieutenant governor.

Chilly reception--Rivals for the 37th Congressional District seat, Lynn Dymally and Walter R. Tucker III, were forced to drop their acrimonious campaign rhetoric this week and shake hands--albeit briefly--during a Compton City Council meeting.

The chilly scene occurred after three members of the council decided to present Rep. Mervyn Dymally with a plaque commemorating his federal fund-raising efforts on behalf of a proposed mass transit rail system through Compton.

Dymally’s daughter showed up at the council meeting to pick up the award for her father. In her statement of gratitude, Dymally pointedly excluded Tucker and Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore, who is supporting Tucker in the race. Moore and Tucker returned the favor with stony-faced silence.

When Dymally offered her hand, Moore and then Tucker shook it--and dropped it as quickly as one might when offered a dead fish. Then they all turned and managed tense smiles for the city photographer.