Tom Hayden at UCLA recovering from a stroke*

Former state lawmaker, Los Angeles mayoral candidate and author Tom Hayden is at a UCLA medical center recovering from a stroke he suffered last month, the Santa Monica Mirror says. The 75-year-old Hayden said by phone Monday night that he was hit by the stroke on May 21 while in Kern County "with a group of people concerned about the effects of fracking and oil drilling." There's no timetable for his release from the hospital, he says.

Hayden was a founder of the Students for a Democratic Society in 1961 and a member of the Chicago 8 protesters who were famously prosecuted over actions at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Hayden got involved in Santa Monica city politics while married to actress Jane Fonda, and was elected to the state Assembly in 1982. He moved to the state Senate in 1992 for two terms. Hayden ran for mayor of Los Angeles against Richard Riordan in 1997 and for the Los Angeles City Council in 2001, losing both times. He also had made previous unsuccessful runs for governor and U.S. Senate.

* 11:25 p.m. update: Hayden actually talked with City News Service, which posted a story at 10:57 last night. The Santa Monica Mirror apparently just took its story off CNS.

Hayden's 19 books include most recently "inspiring Participatory Democracy: Student Movements from Port Huron to Today," from Paragidm in 2012.