Compton Mayor, Retired Judge Won’t Seek Vicencia’s Seat

Compton Mayor Walter R. Tucker and retired Los Angeles Municipal Judge G. Tom Thompson, both mentioned as possible contenders for the 54th District Assembly seat being vacated by Speaker Pro Tem Frank Vicencia (D-Bellflower), have announced that they will not be candidates.

Tucker said this week that he intends to remain mayor and concentrate on keeping his dental practice successful. “I still have two kids in college,” he said during a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Thompson, who lives in Long Beach, wrote to House Speaker Willie Brown on Saturday to say that, “after careful introspection” that drew on advice from several political leaders “as well as consultation with both my neurosurgeon and neurologist, I feel it would be ill-advised for me to commit myself to the hectic, intensive and demanding pressures of a campaign.” Thompson suffers from a nerve disorder that he received in a car accident.