Early Career
Born in Los Angeles, California, Bruce graduated from Hollywood High School, at the age of 16 and then from Pomona College with a double major in history and government. He completed a law degree from the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law in 1973, and worked as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney from 1973 to 1979, resigning amid frustration with the court system.
In 1980, Bruce ran a largely self-financed campaign for the California State Assembly, running in the Democratic Primary for the 38th Assembly district, which, at that time, centered on Pacific Palisades and Malibu. Running with the campaign slogan "Specifics, Not Safe Generalities," Bruce ran what a local newspaper described as "something of an anomaly—a law and order primary campaign by a Democrat." Bruce lost by five percentage points in a high-turnout primary; his opponent, Steven Afriat, narrowly lost the general election to Republican Marian la Follette.
Read more about this topic: Douglas Bruce
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or career:
“I realized how for all of us who came of age in the late sixties and early seventies the war was a defining experience. You went or you didnt, but the fact of it and the decisions it forced us to make marked us for the rest of our lives, just as the depression and World War II had marked my parents.”
—Linda Grant (b. 1949)
“A black boxers career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)