Die-Hard Devotees of Perot Rally Around Idea of New Political Force

More than 100 die-hard supporters of Ross Perot’s aborted presidential bid gathered in a Ventura park Saturday to voice their support for a new and still-nameless national political movement--with or without a central leader.

Yet the shape and direction of such an organization were the hot topics of debate. Most participants said they wanted to wait for the outcome of meetings between Perot and state campaign coordinators in Dallas this weekend before committing to a course of action.

“They are going to sit down and hammer this thing out,” said Bill Ransbottom, central coast coordinator for the Perot petition committee. “Then they will come back to us with recommended solutions and we will vote on them.”

Standing on a small stage in Ventura’s Plaza Park, many speakers urged the formation of a third party, distinct from both the Democrats and the Republicans. Others argued for a powerful political lobby along the lines of the National Organization for Women or the American Assn. of Retired Persons.

A few suggested drafting another candidate, such as retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf or Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp, as a replacement for Perot. But the group reached no consensus.

“We need to get the ball rolling, we have a platform to write,” Ransbottom, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, told the sun-drenched crowd. “We will transition to another form. It may be a third party, it may be a foundation.”

Faith Barker, a Camarillo resident, stirred her fellow Perot volunteers with spicy comments about her emotions following Perot’s on-and-off candidacy. “I feel like I have been in the middle of a passionate love affair, got slightly pregnant, was jilted at the altar and now have to decide whether to have an abortion,” she told a cheering audience. “We can’t quit now.”

Organizers from Perot’s Ventura County headquarters set up volunteer and voter-registration tables, but there were few takers. “Most of the people here are already registered to vote, and they’re mostly volunteers already,” said Jeanne LaFever, who was staffing one of the tables.

But business was brisk at the Perot merchandise table, where Jerry Mathers was selling Perot T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers. “Most of these will probably go as souvenirs now,” Mathers said.

Some Perot fans still plan to support the man who turned them into political activists. “I’m still going to vote for Perot,” said Frank Valenti, 32, of Simi Valley. “He may still have a chance.”

Hand-lettered signs reading “We Don’t Quit” and “Perot Started It, We’ll Finish It” dotted the crowd of Ventura County residents, some of whom took time off from work to show their ongoing support for the grass-roots movement.

“I left my shop at the busiest time to come down here,” said Lois Kingsley, who runs a dog-grooming business in Oxnard. “I believe in a third party. It’s happening now, today.”

Not everyone at the rally was happy with the movement, however. After she left the stage, Barker expressed concern about the treatment of women by the local campaign’s top leadership, who are mostly men. “They didn’t want any women to speak,” she said. “They run this place like a dictatorship.”

An open meeting Monday night at the Ventura headquarters on East Main Street will focus on the organization’s future, Ransbottom said. By then the state coordinators will have completed their discussions with Perot, he said.

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