J. Stephen "Steve" Peace (born March 30, 1953) is a film writer and producer, and a U.S. Democratic politician from California.
Peace was born in 1953 in San Diego, California and is an alumnus of UC San Diego. His few film credits include the famous cult-movies in the parody Killer Tomatoes series (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!, Return of the Killer Tomatoes!, Killer Tomatoes Strike Back, and Killer Tomatoes Eat France (under the name J. Stephen "Rock" Peace). He acted in the first 3, wrote the two first and the final film, and produced all 4. He is also took on all 3 aforementioned jobs in unrelated film Happy Hour AKA Sour Grapes.
Peace got his start in politics as a protégé of Assemblyman Larry Kapiloff. Peace served in the California State Assembly from 1982–1992 and the California Senate from 1993–2002. Many claim he wrote the electricity deregulation bill that many[who?] believed resulted in the California electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001. However, although Peace was then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, it was not "his" bill. The "Steve Peace Death March", as it was known, caused many legislators to switch their votes to support deregulation, and he took credit for being "the father of deregulation". [1]. The energy crisis was enough to cause him to abandon a proposed run for California Secretary of State. As part of his campaign to distance himself from the energy crisis, he posted a short video on his state website which included several clips of him opposing the type of deregulation which was eventually included in the energy bill. In the years after the energy crisis, information about market abuse by Enron and ineffective federal oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission emerged. Peace's contends that the crisis was not, as pundits claimed at the time, a result of "his" energy bill. But veteran Sacramento Bee statehouse columnist Dan Walters said in 2009 that the Peace-authored energy bill's "fatal flaws led to collapse of the energy supply system, driving utilities to – and in one case, over – the brink of insolvency, a folly that will be reflected in consumers' power bills for years."
After being term limited out of the assembly he was appointed Director of the California Department of Finance by then governor Gray Davis.
Peace is currently senior advisor for San Diego Padres owner John Moores, chairman of the board of directors for the California Independent Voter Project and CEO of Killer Tomatoes Entertainment. He is currently married to his wife Cheryl and has three sons.
Trivia
- In a "Killer Tomatoes" DVD making fun of "Where are they now?", Peace was shown wearing a suit walking into the California Senate with an open parachute attached to his back, spoofing his Killer Tomatoes character Wilbur Finletter, who was usually seen dragging an open parachute in the same manner.
External links
- Stephen Peace at the Internet Movie Database[[2]]
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