Longtime Leftist Moves On to Greener (Party) Pastures

California voters, it appears, have tired of peace and freedom--well, of Peace & Freedom, anyway--forcing the one and only Jan B. Tucker to take his leftist politics elsewhere.

Tucker, a Toluca Lake-based private eye and activist for every leftist cause under the sun, was the last hope for the state’s Peace & Freedom Party, which formed in California amid the political upheaval of 1968.

His campaign for state treasurer last year, “Tucker for Treasurer: Politics as Unusual,” represented the best chance for Peace & Freedom to maintain its spot on the state ballot. Tucker had run for governor and president on the Peace & Freedom ticket in previous years, and has a politician’s gift for self-promotion.

But Tucker’s third-party candidacy--which espoused such unorthodox fiscal views as using the power of the state stock portfolio to help break the glass ceiling for women and minorities--failed to ignite the liberal crowd.

He gathered less than 2% of the vote, the amount required for a party to stay on the ballot, and Secretary of State Bill Jones has since announced that Peace & Freedom has gone the way of Nehru jackets and the Age of Aquarius.

Peace & Freedom loyalists could get back on the ballot by increasing the number of voters registered to the party. There is little indication that is going to happen. But Tucker--who is active in the local chapters of the National Organization for Women, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, a local newspaper guild and an animal-rights organization--isn’t about to give up the fight just yet. He plans to do what any crafty politician would do under the circumstances: adapt.

Tucker is going to team up with another minor party on the left, the Green Party, which, not coincidentally, has been gaining in popularity at the same time Peace & Freedom has been losing it. He believes the leadership of his new party is more grounded in reality.

“The Greens don’t have the ideological baggage and weirdo reputation that the Peace & Freedom Party has,” Tucker said. “It’s hard to be taken seriously when the party leaders stand up at conventions and say, ‘We are the new Bolsheviks.’ I tried to take some new recruits there, and they said, ‘This is “Alice in Wonderland.” ’ “

His next candidacy, he said, will be for U.S. Senate. In the meantime, Tucker says he will urge that his new party try to deal with what he sees as its biggest weakness: lack of minority representation.

“It’s a marriage whose time has come,” he said of his conversion to Green. “I’d like to help the Greens to diversify their ranks, because they need it. Their heart’s in the right place.”

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NO REST: As if Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) didn’t have enough liberals angry at him. Now he is being accused of getting in the way of world peace.

Rogan, fresh off his controversial role as prosecutor in President Clinton’s Senate impeachment trial, was awarded straight Fs on the latest political report card of California Peace Action, a group that fights the proliferation of nuclear weapons and arms sales to recognized dictatorships. The Peace Action claims to be the state’s largest “peace” organization, with a statewide membership of 33,000.

“While Rep. Rogan’s role in the impeachment process has received a great deal of attention, we don’t want people to overlook his terrible record on nuclear weapons, human rights and wasteful military spending,” said Danielle Babineau, the group’s southern California political director. “You can’t do worse than an F.”

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EAR TO THE RAIL: When City Council candidates went door to door recently trying to qualify for the April 13 ballot, residents asked about one issue more than any other.

Should the San Fernando Valley break away from Los Angeles and form its own city?

“That was the most consistent question that people asked me about,” said David R. Guzman Sr., one of four candidates challenging Councilman Hal Bernson in the northwest Valley’s 12th District.

Guzman said most residents doubted that the Valley would be better off after a breakaway from Los Angeles, a skepticism he and many other candidates share.

“They are afraid of it because they fear it may add to the red tape and cost the Valley more,” said Guzman, who isn’t convinced secession is a good idea.

Secession has divided candidates vying for four Valley seats on the City Council, an informal survey found. Most said the issue of Valley cityhood will be a major point of discussion in their campaigns.

Bernson supported a study of cityhood, but has declined to take a position on secession, citing his service on the county commission that is examining the financial issues involved, said Ali Sar, a spokesman.

Among other 12th District candidates, newsletter publisher Marilyn Stout said she does not believe secession is the answer, while attorney Charles Rubel said the Valley would be better off as a separate city.

“I’m definitely for it, if it’s feasible,” Rubel said, adding he believes it will bring government closer to Valley residents.

Stout said she would prefer to see charter reform bring city residents together.

“It [cityhood] would worsen the quality of life throughout the city,” Stout said.

In the race for the 2nd District seat in the East Valley, Councilman Joel Wachs was one of the first to sign a petition calling for a study of cityhood, but has said he wants to see the study results before taking a position on secession.

Second District challenger Kathy Anthony, who runs a Sunland tailoring business, said the Valley has been shortchanged by the rest of Los Angeles.

“Unfortunately, I don’t feel we have an option” but to secede, Anthony said. “We have to do something to get attention and dollars back to the Valley.”

John Spishak, another 2nd District candidate, also believes secession will improve the quality of life for Valley residents.

“I’m definitely for it,” he said. “People are so tired of what they are not getting from City Hall.”

In the 7th Council District, covering the northeast Valley, front-runner candidates Corinne Sanchez and Alex Padilla have not yet taken positions on secession, but Ollie McCaulley supports it. Barbara Perkins is not sure it’s a good idea.

“It’s long overdue,” McCaulley said. “The San Fernando Valley should be its own city. We are such a large part of the tax base, but we’re not getting the services in return.”

McCaulley said 90% of the voters he spoke with asked him about his stand on secession, but unlike Guzman’s experience, the vast majority were in favor, he said.

Perkins resigned as a board member of Valley VOTE because she believed the group was promoting Valley cityhood, not just a study of the issue.

“I don’t see any indication that we’re going to be better off if we [secede],” Perkins said. “I support going ahead with the study, but I can’t be supportive of secession at this time.”

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ANOTHER BREAKUP: In filing for divorce from state Sen. Richard Alarcon, Corina Alarcon enlisted the help of an attorney who knows what it is like to oppose a powerful spouse.

She has retained attorney Manley Freid, who has represented a who’s-who of spouses breaking from powerful people, including one of Mayor Richard Riordan’s former wives.

Freid said he has also represented Tom Arnold against Roseanne Barr, Loni Anderson against Burt Reynolds and Lee Iacocca’s former wife in her divorce from the ex-Chrysler chairman.

Corina Alarcon said she has received a lot of backing from community leaders, including a vigil last week attended by about 30 supporters who are upset at Richard Alarcon’s decision to separate from his wife right after he was elected to the Senate.

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DEMOCRATS’ DARTBOARD

Rep. James Rogan of Glendale has become a key target for Democrats. A3