Beilenson Still Hopeful in Victory, Gallegly in Defeat : Vote: Ventura County congressmen break with party lines. Many business people are pleased with outcome.

Republican Rep. Elton Gallegly on Wednesday said he prays he is wrong that the North American Free Trade Agreement will become an economic boondoggle, resulting in a loss of jobs and an increase in illegal immigration.

And Democratic Rep. Anthony Beilenson, who represents most of Thousand Oaks, said he has high hopes that the trade pact will prove successful and not come back to haunt him in his reelection bid next year.

The controversial trade agreement--which would gradually phase out trade barriers among the United States, Mexico and Canada--split the California congressional delegation, prompting Ventura County’s two representatives to break ranks with their partisan colleagues.

Beilenson, a moderate from Woodland Hills, broke with the majority of his Democratic colleagues in the House to support the historic pact. Meanwhile, Gallegly, a conservative from Simi Valley, parted with the majority of Republican House members to oppose it.

“I hope I’m wrong,” Gallegly said of his pessimism about the trade pact. But, he said, “I can’t see in my wildest dreams that we’re going to see anything of a positive nature come out of this.”

Gallegly warned that the deal could result in a loss of 500,000 U.S. jobs and cost taxpayers $100 billion over the next five years in lower tariff revenues, worker retraining programs and environmental expenses associated with side agreements.

“I’m much more concerned about the direction of the country,” he said, “than whether I was right or wrong on this issue.”

Gallegly said he believed that NAFTA, which was strongly endorsed by Ventura County’s agricultural industry, would displace a large number of Mexican farm workers. He said this would lead to an increase in illegal immigration, which he contends is a drain on the California economy.

“Mexico is already reeling from large unemployment,” Gallegly said. “When people don’t have jobs on the farms anymore, they’re going to come north.”

Gallegly, who made public his opposition to NAFTA only last week, said he was not particularly concerned about marching out of step with his party leadership on the issue.

“When you’re an elected official, it’s not to be a rubber stamp for your party, but to do what you believe is in the best interest of the country,” the congressman said. Gallegly’s 23rd Congressional District covers all of Ventura County except for most of Thousand Oaks.

Representatives from several county business organizations that supported NAFTA said Wednesday that they still support Gallegly, despite his stand.

“I think our board respected his decision,” said Nancy Bender, executive director of the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. “I have not heard anything negative from business people, like ‘Gosh, he shouldn’t have done that.’ They certainly know Elton has been very good for this district, very pro-business.”

But others questioned Gallegly’s rationale for opposing NAFTA.

“I was very surprised by his position since he is the one who wants to stem the tide of illegal immigration,” said Jim Barroca, vice president of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed the trade pact. “It seems to me if we help build up Mexico’s economy it will give incentive for people to remain there, and that will help solve this problem.”

Beilenson, whose 24th Congressional District extends from the San Fernando Valley to Thousand Oaks and Malibu, was among the first California Democrats to announce his support for NAFTA in late September.

“I made my position known upfront,” Beilenson said before Wednesday’s vote. “I’ve heard no compelling arguments at all against the agreement. In almost every respect, it’s very, very good.”

Most of the letters and phone calls he received early on were against the trade agreement, but Beilenson said that had changed in recent weeks, with a more even split between those in favor and those against.

Although he faces some political fallout if NAFTA fails, Beilenson can take solace in the fact that at least one of his would-be Republican opponents next year is on record supporting the pact. Richard Sybert, who was Gov. Pete Wilson’s head of research and planning, has said that NAFTA “will create more jobs than it will eliminate.”

Stacy Roscoe, a business manager at Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co. in Oxnard, said NAFTA is expected to create hundreds of new jobs for the company nationwide.

Although the company’s local branch does not currently do business in Mexico, he said the trade agreement could change that.

“It’s an opportunity,” said Roscoe, who is also a board member of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn. “We believe it will open up new markets and that will mean more jobs. . . . Mexico is a good market. The average person in Mexico spends more per year on U.S. goods than Europeans.”

Pierre Tada, vice president of Limoneira Co., one of Ventura County’s largest citrus growers, said he also believes that increased trade with Mexico will benefit the local economy.

“We need a shot in the arm,” said Tada, also a member of Ventura County’s Economic Development Assn. “A reduction of tariffs will mean more products will be shipped to the growing Mexico market, and that means more jobs north of the border.”

Times staff writer Alan C. Miller contributed to this article.