Rubin Kicks off Campaign

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

April 23 -- It was 1 p.m. Earth Day, and sticking to schedule, Jerry Rubin faced a press corps of one and became the first candidate to announce a bid for a seat on the Santa Monica City Council.

Flanked by a large spread of assorted organic snacks and soy drinks – the centerpiece of which was a platter of grapes delicately arranged as a peace symbol – Rubin launched into a platform he hopes would make his third run the charm.

“I ran twice before, with the first race in 2000,” said Rubin, a registered Democrat, clad in his trademark snug shorts, t-shirt and socks. “That year I got 5,007 votes, and like my campaign now, I did not solicit or accept any campaign donations.

“If each of those 5,000 people that voted for me get one friend to vote,” Rubin said, “I’ll win.”

While Rubin plans to retread the failed strategy of 2000 bid, there will be a major difference when he runs for one of four council seats this November.

Rubin, 60, legally changed his middle name to “Peace Activist” on his birthday last December.

His name change, some say, is a blatant attempt by Rubin to get the moniker on the ballot after his attempts in 2000 and 2002 were denied and his legal challenge was shot down when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Rubin, who sells slogans and stickers on the Third Street Promenade, said his motives were not political.

“It was a birthday gift to myself,” said Rubin, who proudly displayed his California identification card instead of a driver’s license, since he’s never driven a car. “I wanted to have a personal reminder, everyday, of my obligation to spread peace throughout the world.”

In fact, a major plank in Rubin’s campaign platform will range far beyond local issues. His campaign flyers picture Rubin giving the peace sign next to President Bush, mouth open, with a slashed circle around his head.

The flyers encourage voters to show their support for his campaign by donating their time and money on a national level to beat Bush.

“Jerry feels that our great nation and precious planet cannot tolerate another four years of George W. Bush,” reads the flyer, which Rubin made. “Jerry is imploring everyone to help re-defeat Bush.”

As for local issues, Rubin has plenty. Twenty-five to be exact. Each item is listed on his flyer with a little adjacent checkmark and reads like a laundry list of items that have recently come before the City Council.

Stable funding of schools, rent control, more affordable housing, a living wage, more open spaces, more community involvement, more bus service, better solutions for the homeless… Rubin supports them all.

Forced fluoridation in the City’s water, however, is where Rubin draws the line when it comes to his big “L” liberalism.

A fixture at public meetings, Rubin was born into a self-described lower-middle class family in Philadelphia in the forties. He was the middle of three boys. His parents divorced when he was very young and truancy led to him getting kicked out of school, eventually landing him in juvenile hall and with foster families.

Then there were the fights, the bullies and epileptic seizures he endured for years. All of which, Rubin said, led him to withdraw deeper inside himself and further away from connections with society.

Petty thefts he committed led to some run-ins with the law, and by the age of 26, Rubin found himself lacking even a high school diploma.

That’s when his younger brother invited him to Venice, California. It was July 4, 1967, and Rubin never left.

Rubin lived the 60s scene clear into the late 70s when he says a visit to a chiropractor “miraculously cured” him of his epilepsy. The visit, Rubin said, led him to a healthier lifestyle. He gave up drugs and took up politics.

Less than a year later he attended his first rally put on by a group known as “No Nukes,” and has been an activist ever since.

Rubin started taking classes at Santa Monica College, where he says he made the dean’s list. He married his wife, Marissa, in 1983, which he calls the “best thing to ever happen” to him.

Nowadays, Rubin says he’s aware that some may see him as eccentric, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is just making the world a better place, and now he has the name go along with that philosophy.

“Think globally, act locally, that’s my motto,” Rubin said as he and the press ate some grapes while wrapping up the interview.

Rubin stamped the reporter’s hand with a peace sign and sent him off with a few “Buck Fush” stickers -- the toll when leaving Jerry “Peace Activist” Rubin’s world.