Mourners Recall Rep. Dixon as Quietly Effective Leader

Rep. Julian Dixon, a veteran Democrat who represented his southwest Los Angeles district for 22 years, was eulogized Wednesday as a quiet and effective leader, a consummate gentleman whose life was better celebrated by the trumpeting of reveille than the blowing of taps.

More than 1,000 mourners, including about 80 congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle, attended the service at First African Methodist Episcopal Church, where Dixon was praised as a behind-the-scenes champion of causes and projects that ranged from civil rights to Los Angeles’ subway.

Dixon, 66, died Friday at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital of an apparent heart attack after being admitted for what aides described as minor surgery.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills), referring to Dixon as one of his closest friends, quoted Thomas Jefferson in describing his colleague.

“ ‘On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principle, stand like a rock.’ He describes our friend,” Berman said.

Dignitaries and longtime friends filled the 75-minute service with tributes to Dixon’s achievements. The guest list for the service was, in itself, a testament to the congressman’s career. It included Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown.

“Julian earned both the respect of his colleagues and the admiration of his constituents. He dedicated his life to strengthening his community and his country,” said Herman, reading a letter from President Clinton.

Dixon was president of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1986 to 1990 and was a leader in the mid-1980s of efforts to impose economic sanctions on South Africa because of its racial segregation policy. He was arrested in an anti-apartheid protest at the South African Embassy.

More recently, he used his position as the senior California Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee to funnel federal dollars to Los Angeles and to block efforts to cut funding for the city’s subway system.

Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said Dixon was instrumental in helping Los Angeles receive federal dollars to build “miles and miles” of subway tracks and funds to acquire buses.

Burke, who said her friendship with the congressman went back 35 years, told the gathering that she remembered when she was a young attorney and he worked as a marshal in the courts.

“I could call him when I was running late and he would make the judge hold the case,” she said.

Cochran, who described Dixon as a “true renaissance man,” drew laughter when he told the audience how he and Dixon, going to the movies with their wives last month, “joked about the fact that he and I were now able to buy tickets for seniors, for $5 a ticket, while our two lovely younger wives had to purchase adult tickets.”

In delivering the eulogy, Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray said Dixon’s life could best be summed up with a few simple phrases: “Live simply. Give more. Expect less.”

Outside the church, the tributes continued.

“Some people put their shoulder to the bar and move. That was Julian Dixon,” said Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles), who added that he might consider running for Dixon’s seat.

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Los Angeles) described the congressman as a “gentleman’s gentleman.”

“He tried to do the best he could for everyone,” she said. “I will take his spirit with me as I go back to Congress.”

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Dixon’s conciliatory style will be sorely missed in Congress.

“He took on the thankless jobs,” Rangel said. “He was someone who would help bridge gaps.”

Addie Mae Miller, a longtime Dixon supporter, remembered her congressman as a man who in “his own way made everyone feel special.”

“He came to my mother’s house before she died when she was suffering from diabetes and heart problems,” she said. “He took his time and sat with her. He was someone who could feel your pain.”

Gov. Gray Davis is expected to call a special election to choose a successor for Dixon in the solidly Democratic 32nd Congressional District, which straddles the Santa Monica Freeway roughly between the Harbor and San Diego freeways.

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Times staff writer Dalondo Moultrie contributed to this story.