Santa Monica woman says ‘California needs a mediator, not a terminator’ for governor
Heather Peters admits the run for California’s top job is a long shot, but the Santa Monica mediator said she’s in the race to win the governor’s seat anyway.
Peters, who has never held any political office before, describes herself as a centrist and says the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis has the ability to reverse California’s faltering voter turnout because it gives voters a broad range of choices on the ballot. There are 135 names on the ballot.
Had former gubernatorial-hopeful Richard Riordan joined the race, Peters, the second LA-area resident to qualify for the ballot, said she would have abandoned her campaign. Instead, Peters, 37, has stepped up her campaign and plans to make a swing through San Francisco next month.
Asked if she thinks she can beat movie star and fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, Peters replied, “I don’t know. Well, I haven’t booked the movers yet. I’m pretty much a realist.”
A resident of Santa Monica’s mid-city neighborhood, Peters said her campaign has consistently gained momentum since it began. She describes herself as a pro-choice, anti-tax moderate who is only running as a Republican as a matter of law. According to the recall guidelines, candidates must register under the party in which they last voted.
She entered the race not only because she believes that Gov. Davis lacks the interpersonal skills to effectively deal with the legislature and is “bought and paid for” by special interest groups, but also because the campaign is short enough that she may have a chance of winning.
“In a traditional election, I would have to shelf my business for 18 months,” she said. “I’ve always thought about running for office but I would never make it in a primary as a Republican and I don’t have a lot of money.”
Peters doesn’t belong to any political groups or special clubs, other than the Manhattan Beach Tennis Club and the State Bar of California. Because of that, she doesn’t answer to any lobbying interests, she said.
The top items on Peters’ would-be agenda are reforming worker’s compensation claims, setting guidelines for medical expenses, rooting out fraud and giving tax breaks to businesses that offer health benefits and childcare to employees, as well as for environmental incentives.
“There really is no quick fix,” she said. “One of the first things that needs to be done is this legislature needs to get off the dime and break this deadlock. But you can’t fire the legislature, you have to deal with them.”
“One of the first things that needs to be done is this Legislature needs to get off the dime and break this deadlock.You can’t fire the Legislature, you have to deal with them.” — — HEATHER PETERS Candidate for governor and Santa Monica resident
Peters, a native of Greenwich Village in New York, said her background as a mediator puts her in a good position to do exactly that.
“I tried cases and I won cases but I never felt like any one was better for it at the end of the day,” said Peters, who moved to California in 1987 to attend Southwestern School of Law on a full scholarship. “So I started a mediation practice where people settle their disputes out of court. It is greatly rewarding to me.”
Peters, whose favorite book and movie is “To Kill a Mockingbird,” said she loves Santa Monica and the beach. She declined to comment on her position in local politics, saying it would be a conflict of interest because she has been hired by City Hall in the past.
Asked what her criminal record looks like, Peters laughed and said she has never been cited with so much as a moving violation.
Her campaign so far has personally cost her the $3,500 filing fee and $1,030 for a candidate statement to be printed on the ballot.
She has raised a couple thousands dollars and is mostly using the media to get her message out.
“Given the short time frame (of the campaign), I’m not doing any traditional campaigning,” Peters said. “I need to get my message out to as broad an audience as I can and quickly as possible.”
She has been interviewed by nearly every local television news outlet, as well as on CBS’s Early Morning Show. Peters also has been featured in the LA Times, various cable networks, radio programs and local newspapers.
Peters said because she qualified so early — the beginning of August — she was able to garner the attention of the media early on in the race.
“I had to convince people that I was the go-to reasonable, not crazy person,” she said. “I was accessible and I was national less than a week from when I launched my campaign.”
A dozen closely coordinated volunteers arranged a kick-off event and are operating Peters’ Web site, which offers more information about Peters and links to other politicians.
John Urdan, one of her volunteers, said a lot of the people he talks to have a positive reaction to Peters.
“It seems to be going really well,” he said. “We’re getting a lot of hits on the Web site, we’re getting a lot of media attention. It’s hard to say whether that can translate into votes.”
Peters, who has no children and is married to Jeff Bonhach — an owner of a business consulting firm — is running her campaign out of her office in the Water Garden office building on the eastside of Santa Monica. Across town, on Main Street and now on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Monica, Schwarzenegger is spearheading a campaign to oust Gov. Gray Davis.
Asked what she thinks of Schwarzenegger’s campaign and positions, Peters responded, “It’s too soon to tell. I haven’t seen enough one way or the other. They’ve been marshaling their resources and I think we’ll start seeing more in the next week or so.”
Heather Peters
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 30, 2003. Read the original PDF.