Thomas Rees, 78; Democrat Was Outspoken Congressman

Thomas M. Rees, a six-term Democratic congressman from Los Angeles during the 1960s and '70s who began his public life in the state Assembly and state Senate, has died. He was 78.

Rees died Tuesday of esophageal cancer at his home in the mountains near Santa Cruz, where he retired in the late 1980s after practicing law.

A Los Angeles native who was a Republican before switching to the Democratic Party, Rees was elected to the state Assembly in 1954 from Beverly Hills and surrounding communities, a district that was then regarded as solidly Republican.

In fact, Rees' election was something of a fluke.

The district had been represented for many years by GOP Assemblyman Charles Lyons. But two weeks before the election, Lyons was indicted on charges related to alleged bribery, and some Republicans sponsored a write-in candidate. That split the GOP vote, which gave Rees, a 29-year-old Democrat, his first victory.

Elected to the state Senate in 1962, Rees was the last person to represent Los Angeles County -- with its then 6 million residents -- in its entirety. The Legislature was dominated at that time by senators from so-called "cow counties" -- the rural areas of the state.

In 1966, the one-man, one-vote decision of the U.S. Supreme Court was enforced in California, which required a broad redistricting on the basis of population. That resulted in Los Angeles County's getting many more seats in the state Senate.

In Sacramento in the 1950s, Rees became known for his willingness to express his strong liberal views on civil rights, the loyalty oath and other issues. He was also a strong advocate for the environment.

"To me, Tom Rees was one of the new breed of legislators, the ones we expect to be in office now," Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel), who has known Rees for many years, told The Times on Thursday.

Farr said that, when Rees was elected to the Legislature, it was "pretty much all white males and people who were part of the establishment."

"Tom was somebody who stood out," Farr said. "He was the voice of the future: young, outspoken, critical, energetic." He said Rees "took on the establishment" and was "always for the underdog."

After being elected to Congress from the 26th District in a special election in December 1965, Rees remained equally outspoken in Washington, particularly in his opposition to the Vietnam War, which put him at odds with President Lyndon B. Johnson.