A Favorite ‘Uncle’ Off the Ballot in Thousand Oaks

In his first run for public office, David Sams has suffered a setback, but he’s not about to cry uncle.

In fact, he isn’t even allowed to say uncle--at least not on the ballot in Thousand Oaks’ upcoming City Council election.

Hoping to list himself on the ballot as “Uncle” David Sams, the TV producer and Internet entrepreneur was thwarted by city officials, who also rejected his compromise offer of David “Uncle” Sams.

“The city of Thousand Oaks is trying to take ‘Uncle Sams’ out of the political arena,” said Sams, 44. “I can’t think of a better nickname to run under.”

Still “shocked,” Sams joins such frustrated office seekers as Al Lewis, better known to TV fans as Grandpa Munster. Running on the Green Party ticket for governor of New York, Lewis was barred by state officials and the courts there from calling himself “Grandpa” Al Lewis on the 1998 ballot.

With that case in mind and the California elections code at hand, Thousand Oaks officials took “uncle” out of the running Friday. Sams had submitted the signatures required for candidacy by Friday’s deadline, they ruled. However, he’d have to lose the “uncle”--despite its added significance as a tribute to his great-uncle David Remley, a World War II submariner.

“The election code says his name is to appear on the ballot, and he was asking for something other than his name to appear there,” Assistant City Atty. Tim Giles said. A shortened, informal version of a candidate’s given name--”Bill” for William or “Dave” for David, for instance--would be acceptable, he added.

“It’s not a personal decision,” Giles said. “We wish Mr. Sams the best in his candidacy.”

For Sams, that might not be enough. He said Monday he might take legal action.

“As Americans, we have the right to use our names and put them out there before the public,” he said.

“If I want to run as ‘Uncle’ David Sams, I should be able to. Look at Jesse Ventura, for crying out loud: That’s his wrestling name!”

Sams said close friends have called him “Uncle” since high school. Professionally, though, he shelves the patriotic reference.

He has a business dealing in Internet domain names that’s called, simply, SamsDirect.com, sans “uncle.” His credits on TV productions are also uncle-less.

Ventura County election officials said the law allows cities some discretion on a number of ballot questions.

In any case, Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar of voters, said he hadn’t come across a case like “Uncle” Sams’ in his 22 years on the job.

“When you register, you give your given name, and when you run, you have to run as you’re registered,” Bradley said. “If you’re registered as William Cody, you can’t run as ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody.”

This isn’t Sams’ first conflict over a name.

In 1999, he upset the publisher of Archie comics when he registered a Web site on behalf of his baby daughter called veronica.org.

Archie Comics Publications claimed that its trademark for the name Veronica--one of the ageless strip’s teenage characters--gave it rights to the Web site name, but the company later backed down.

“I felt like David fighting Goliath,” Sams said.

A Thousand Oaks resident for two years after moving from Bel-Air, Sams acknowledged that the uncle brouhaha might give him some of the valuable name recognition he lacked.

“But this isn’t necessarily the kind of recognition I was looking for,” he said.

Three four-year council seats are up for election Nov. 5, plus a two-year seat vacated by Linda Parks as she heads to the county Board of Supervisors.