Rubin fighting to allow ‘activist’ designation
Jerry Rubin isn’t a peace activist by trade, at least not in the eyes of the state government.
A frequent fixture at many local civic events, Rubin’s ballot designation as a peace activist in his election bid for the City Council was denied last week, the decision by the City Clerk’s Office coming eight years after the long-time resident filed a lawsuit against City Hall for first refusing the job title.
The clerk notified Rubin on Aug. 6 — shortly after he filed his nomination papers — citing state law that forbids the use of “activist” as an occupation because it is considered a status under the California Election Code, not a profession. Rubin has since qualified for the ballot, but without a job description.
“Activist would fall under a status, or more of an avocation or pro form vocation or occupation,” City Clerk Maria Stewart said.
Avocations are a casual or occasional activity while a pro forma profession would consume little to none of the candidate’s time, according to the state election code. Titles falling under both categories are prohibited from appearing on the ballot.
Candidates can only list one of a few designations underneath their name on the ballot — the name of the elected office at the time; the word “incumbent” for those seeking reelection; or three words describing the current principal profession, vocation or occupation. The latter has a series of restrictions, including not allowing “activist” as a job.
Rubin, who sells bumper stickers on the Third Street Promenade and runs the Activist Support Circle, disagrees, adding that many groups, like environmental group, CALPIRG, advertise “activist” jobs.
“I think it’s important that an activist be considered a legitimate job,” Rubin, who co-founded the Santa Monica Treesavers, said.
The issue over ballot designations first came up in 2000 when Rubin ran for the council and submitted nomination papers naming peace activist as his profession. After the designation was denied, Rubin, with the help of pro bono lawyer Jim Fosbinder, sued City Hall, the three-year battle going all the way to the nation’s highest court before being tossed out in 2003.
The lawsuit had some life in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals where after it was initially denied, one of the three judges considered rehearing the case with a larger panel. The case was never heard again.
The City Clerk’s Office and City Hall maintained throughout the case that they were simply following state law and that the lawsuit might have been misdirected.
Fosbinder, who practices in Hawaii and met Rubin through a previous free speech case he handled in Venice, said he felt the issue should’ve been a slam dunk.
479,“It’s perfectly obvious that activists have become a fairly common job description,” Fosbinder said.
The argument was raised during a council meeting around the time Rubin filed the lawsuit, former Mayor Michael Feinstein arguing that an activist is as much of a profession as a doctor or teacher.
Feinstein ran as an environmentalist and author in his first bid for the council in 1996. The environmentalist label was not allowed in subsequent elections, he said.
“In the end it seems like a ballot designation should be descriptive about how people occupy their time,” Feinstein said.
Rubin has since found a way to get the “peace activist” on the fall and future ballots, legally changing his name to incorporate the words during his 60th birthday almost five years ago.
“I did it as a birthday gift for myself to have an ongoing reminder of the responsibility that I have to actively promote peace,” Rubin said.
Jump hedline: Rubin fighting to allow ‘activist’ designation on ballot
Suggested pullquote: “I think it’s important that an activist be considered a legitimate job.”
Jerry Rubin
City Council candidate
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Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 12, 2008. Read the original PDF.