Long Beach Picked for First of Two Reform Party Conventions

Ross Perot, seeking maximum voter participation for his fledgling Reform Party, will convene the party’s first nominating convention on two Sundays in mid-August, first in Long Beach and then in Valley Forge, Pa., party officials said Thursday.

The group is to hear speeches from its prospective presidential candidates on Aug. 11 at the Long Beach Convention Center and announce its nominee Aug. 18 at the Pennsylvania site, with voting by mail, telephone or computer to occur between the two dates.

It remains unclear how the party’s vice presidential candidate will be picked.

The two Sundays bracket the Aug. 12-15 Republican National Convention in San Diego.

The bicoastal locations are designed to encourage broad attendance by those supporting the party, Perot aides said.

So far, no one has declared for the party’s nomination. Perot, whose independent run for the presidency in 1992 laid the groundwork for the new party, has not ruled himself out as a candidate. Former Colorado Gov. Richard D. Lamm has indicated he may be interested--if Perot does not run and if a means can be found to finance a credible campaign.

The gathering in Long Beach is to provide an opportunity for candidates to make their cases to the hall and to a hoped-for nationwide television audience.

Reform Party members and those who signed petitions to get the party on state ballots then have the intervening week to vote for a nominee. Ballots will be mailed to about 1.3 million eligible voters, party officials said.

The Valley Forge meeting, dubbed the Campaign Kickoff Rally, will announce the party’s nominee and mark the beginning of the party’s fall crusade.

“It seems appropriate to officially begin our campaign from one of our country’s most historic locations,” said Russell J. Verney, national coordinator for the Reform Party. “Valley Forge is where Gen. George Washington’s barefoot troops endured months of suffering and yet were revived, organized and marched forward to victory” in the Revolutionary War.

The dates were selected because a number of states, California among them, require a party to name its presidential ticket before Aug. 20, Verney said.

He also said he expects 2,500 people to attend each gathering. He added that he has not discussed coverage of the conventions with the major television networks, but said he expected that the events will generate live coverage.

In Long Beach, tourism officials beamed with anticipation as word spread that the city would host one of the party gatherings. “The national media will be here,” said Charlie Whitney, vice president of sales for the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Like they say, you can’t buy that kind of exposure.”

The event is to begin at 4 p.m. and, according to party officials, last three hours.

In Valley Forge, located near Philadelphia, Convention and Visitors Bureau President Paul R. Decker said Perot officials have inquired about renting the city’s convention center for the day and evening of Aug. 18. Related groups have called to request space in the facility, he said.

“There’s no contract signed, but hotels in the area are already getting calls for rooms and meeting spaces,” Decker said.

He said he had “absolutely no idea” how many people to expect for the conclave.

Times staff writer Jeff Leeds contributed to this article.