A Change of Address for the Perotists

I was surprised when I learned that the Los Angeles Perot headquarters had moved from the San Fernando Valley to my old neighborhood, Mar Vista.

Perotism and the Valley had seemed a perfect fit. The Valley’s single-family, owner-occupied subdivisions have been spawning grounds for many protest movements, such as Valley secession and the Howard Jarvis taxpayer revolt that produced Proposition 13. Walking into the Perot headquarters on Ventura Boulevard was like stumbling through a time warp into a Jarvis storefront of the ‘70s.

I never sensed that kind of anger when we lived in Mar Vista, an un-publicized sanctuary of no-nonsense simplicity in the otherwise overheated, overwrought, over-spending Westside.

Possibly, it’s the geography. Mar Vista is bounded by the Santa Monica and San Diego Freeways and the Santa Monica airport. In fact, it’s on the airport landing pattern. Looking up from your back yard barbecue on a Sunday afternoon and watching the planes sputter home gives you a concentrated dose of reality.

And unlike the rebellious Valley, Mar Vista could be counted on to produce big majorities for whatever pro-government, liberal Democrat who happened to be on the ballot, from mayor to President. While the Valley formed a “Bustop” movement to fight a Los Angeles school board integration plan, a group called “Join Hands” emerged from Mar Vista, supporting integration efforts.

Transplanting the headquarters to Mar Vista from the Valley seemed to be separating the Perot movement from its roots.

On Tuesday, the new Perot headquarters was the site of a press conference by Bob Hayden, Perot’s state chairman. Perot had long since dropped out of the presidential race, but there has always been something intriguing and unfathomable about the Perot movement. I and a few other similarly intrigued reporters answered the call.

The place was in a National Boulevard storefront that once housed a real estate office. It was just a few blocks from where we used to live. Next door was another empty store occupied for many years by the well-loved K’s Delicatessen. A rent increase had forced K’s to switch from a restaurant to a catering business, located nearby. All that remains of K’s is the memory of pastrami and pickles, and the nostalgia of Mar Vista residents for when they had their own deli.

Grumpy over the changes in the old neighborhood, I took my place at the press conference and waited for whatever Hayden had to offer.

When I first met Hayden, he was a wide-eyed political novice who signed up with Perot after watching Ross on Larry King Live. His Arkansas accent and friendliness reminded me of Gomer Pyle.

On Tuesday, Hayden’s smile was just as friendly, but his eyes were wary, even cynical. They were the eyes of a political operative, a man who wasn’t telling us half of what he knew.

He said he called the press conference to say, “I personally believe Ross Perot will become a candidate this year.”

Had Perot told Hayden this? No, he said, “it’s just my personal opinion,” based on “extensive meetings” with Perot.

Hayden also revealed that Perot is spending $40,000 a month to keep his California operation alive. Small change, presumably, to Ross, but enough to pay for the salaries of Hayden and other hired hands and for headquarters’ rent. And enough to finance a public relations firm to publicize and manage a statewide meeting of Perot supporters in San Jose this weekend.

Despite his withdrawal, Perot remains a factor in the presidential race. A new California statewide poll for KCAL-TV, Channel 9, showed Clinton with 39%, Bush 35% and Perot 15%. He hurts Clinton worse than Bush. With Perot off the questionnaire, Clinton led Bush 48% to 38%.

Thursday morning, I phoned Dallas to see what Perot spokeswoman Sharon Holman thought about the press conference. She knew all about it, but said Hayden was speaking for himself. Sure, I thought. That’s why you pay him.

Holman emphatically pointed out that Perot will be on the ballot in 50 states. “If you’re on the ballot in 50 states, the door is cracked open,” she said.

So, the Perot movement lives, although sadly it’s in a different form than when it started.

Perotism began from the bottom, organized by volunteers in the Valley and other places. Soon, the volunteers were fighting among themselves, with Hayden and with Perot headquarters in Dallas.

In its latest incarnation, Perotism seems to be run from the top down. I’ll bet old Navy man Perot is navigating the tricky route ahead himself--and he’d like the trip to have a decisive effect on the presidential election.

That may explain why the L.A. headquarters was moved over the Santa Monica Mountains to Mar Vista, far from the troublesome Valley volunteers.