Activist Jerry Rubin considering name change
If local peace activist Jerry Rubin wants his occupation to appear on next fall’s ballot, he’ll have to change his name to “Jerry Peace Activist Rubin.”
That’s because the Supreme Court this week decided not to hear Rubin’s lawsuit against City Hall, which was launched after the City Attorney’s office advised City Clerk Maria Stewart not to list Rubin’s occupation as “peace activist” on the ballot, saying it would violate state law.
So Rubin, who gives away peace stickers for donations on the Third Street Promenade, said he’s considering legally changing his name.
“This whole three-year struggle has gone the final way it can go and I’m still, no matter what the courts say, including the Supreme Court, I’m still a peace activist,” said Rubin, who ran for a seat on the Santa Monica City Council in 2000 without a professional designation on the ballot. Rubin dropped out of the 2002 City Council race shortly before election day but is considering joining the race once again in 2004.
James Fosbinder, Ru-bin’s First Amendment attorney, said he’s surprised by the ruling. Fosbinder first lost the case against City Hall in federal court three years ago, and appealed to the Ninth District Court of Appeals. When that panel also favored the state law, Fosbinder and Rubin in May appealed to the Supreme Court.
The first two courts pointed to a state law which specifically prohibits “peace activist” be used as an occupation on the ballot. The Supreme Court does not issue explanations on the cases it dismisses.
“It just seemed to us that it’s fundamentally unfair for the government to control what’s underneath your name on the ballot in such an arbitrary way,” Fosbinder said. “State law says that that term is essentially banned because it’s not an occupation. But if you go on the Internet and type in the word ‘activist’ you’ll see hundreds of jobs with the title ‘activist.’
“I can’t explain it because it’s obviously not right,” Fosbinder added.
While typically public opinion is split over these types of cases, Fosbinder said every person he’s spoken to believes Rubin should be granted his request. On the other hand, every court that’s heard Rubin’s case has sided with state law.
“I’ve never lost (a case that was) appealed at every level,” Fosbinder said. “I really thought this should be a winner.”
But Assistant City Clerk Beth Sanchez said no matter where the public opinion stands, the state law is clear. And City Attorney Marsha Moutrie said City Hall may not have been the best target for Rubin’s lawsuit.
“We always felt that perhaps Jerry should have sued the state and not us, because all we were doing was implementing their administrative guidelines,” she said.
In the meantime, Rubin, who drained his bank account to file the $1,600 petition to the Supreme Court, said he will hold a neighborhood meeting later this year to gauge local interest in his candidacy for a City Council seat in the fall 2004 election. He said he knew the likelihood was minimal of having his case heard by the Supreme Court, but that he had his reasons for doing it anyway.
“I just thought that even though it was a slim chance, as everybody knew, I felt obligated to go the whole distance — in the name of activism, in the name of First Amendment Rights and in the name of peace,” Rubin said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 9, 2003. Read the original PDF.