Peace activist's ballot challenge denied

By The Associated Press

10.18.02

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LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court threw out a challenge yesterday by a Santa Monica City Council candidate who unsuccessfully tried to list himself as a "peace activist" on the ballot.

"A ballot is a ballot, not a bumper sticker," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel wrote.

Jerry Rubin, no relation to the late Jerry Rubin who was a Chicago Seven defendant, sued to have himself listed as a peace activist on the November 2000 ballot, but U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts denied his request for a preliminary injunction against the city of Santa Monica.

He then appealed to the 9th Circuit and a panel yesterday unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling.

"I'm very sad and disappointed," said Rubin, 58, who is a city council candidate again in next month's election. "This is a setback for free speech and activism."

Rubin's lawsuit was filed against the city, its elections clerk and California Secretary of State Bill Jones. It charged that his civil rights were being violated because the city wouldn't let him list what he considers his profession.

State law requires that candidates be identified on the ballot only by their profession, occupation or vocation, specifically barring the term activist. The panel found that the law "does not severely burden a candidate's First Amendment rights."

Rubin's attorney, James Fosbinder, said he would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

Rubin, director of Los Angeles Alliance for Survival, has spent the last two decades working full-time as a peace activist. He has endured 25 peace-related fasts and is in the middle of a three-week water-only fast to protest a possible war against Iraq.

Rubin also has marched on Washington and opposes the manufacture and sale of war toys, among other causes. He said he was given the opportunity to describe his profession as "peace promoter," but declined.

The space below his name on next month's ballot will remain blank.

"Isn't it about time that activist was taken off the forbidden list?" he said.