Senate candidate wants in on debate

Alicia Robinson

U.S. Senate Libertarian candidate and Orange County Superior Court

Judge Jim Gray is trying to use the courts to do what his showing in

the polls can’t: get him into a high-profile debate.

Gray, who lives in Newport Beach, applied Monday for a temporary

restraining order to block the League of Women Voters of California

from holding an Aug. 10 debate between incumbent Democratic Sen.

Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger Bill Jones. Gray charges

the league is violating federal election laws by excluding him from

the debate.

“They are a tax-exempt, public interest, nonpartisan outfit under

federal law, and that means they’re required to act in the public

interest,” Gray said.

A league representative said the criteria to be included in its

debate are clear and objective, and Gray simply didn’t meet them.

Gray disagrees. The league said he could join the debate if a poll

showed he was likely to draw at least 10% of the vote in November,

Gray said. He commissioned a poll that reported between 8% and 18% of

respondents to questions on political issues were likely to vote for

him, and 68% of respondents said Gray should be involved in debates

with the major party candidates, he said.

When he presented the league with his poll, Gray was told it

wouldn’t qualify him because it wasn’t neutral, he said.

“That’s true, but the polls that are not paid for by the

candidates ... they don’t list my name, so that’s an impossible

condition,” Gray said.

He said he doesn’t want to cancel the debate; he just wants to be

allowed to participate.

“Our criteria is 10% in an independent poll of likely voters by

organizations such as the L.A. Times or the Field Poll ... and the

courts have held that as long as you have clear, objective criteria,

that’s how debates are structured,” said Xandra Kayden, a consultant

to the League of Women Voters of California and a senior fellow at

the School of Public Policy and Social Research at UCLA. “You have to

set some limits and our responsibility is to voters to hear

candidates who are likely to be elected.”

A spokesman for Jones’ campaign said that the election essentially

involves just two candidates.

“We plan on attending,” said Sean Walsh, a spokesman for Jones’

campaign. “We also believe that the standard the league used was a

fair standard. At this juncture there are two candidates that will

really have a viable chance of being elected. One is Bill Jones. The

other is Barbara Boxer.”

Gray does meet the league’s other criteria, which are being a

legally qualified candidate, making a public announcement of

candidacy and demonstrating that a formal campaign is being waged.

Gray’s filing of a court challenge is more of an attempt to get

media coverage than a legitimate legal complaint, Kayden said.

“I’m sympathetic to the judge, but that doesn’t mean we’re going

to change our criteria,” she said, adding that the league offers all

candidates exposure on its website, https://www.smartvoter.org.

Something Gray and Kayden agree on is the importance of debates in

political races today. The Aug. 10 debate is set to be televised live

on NBC.

“This is the most critical part of the campaign because it will

lend credibility to a candidate that appears and marginalize

candidates that do not,” Gray said.

Also excluded from the debate are American Independent Party

candidate Don J. Grundmann and Peace and Freedom Party candidate

Marsha Feinland.

Gray’s application was scheduled to be heard this morning in Los

Angeles Superior Court.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.