4 Hot Races in East Valley Spice Up the Political Pot

Take an empty congressional seat. Add two open state Legislature races--and a third where the incumbent faces strong opposition.

Season with changing demographics that have both political parties salivating for success. Stir the pot with more than enough campaign dollars to sweeten the mix.

Then, sit back and enjoy a zesty political season in the East Valley, where the synergistic effect of four hot races concentrated in overlapping geographic districts promise to make this area the local political hot spot this fall.

Moreover, the collective outcome of these legislative contests could serve as a referendum on the Newt Gingrich-led 104th Congress.

Of the 13 other state legislative and congressional races on the Nov. 5 ballot, only the West Valley 24th Congressional District matchup between Republican Rich Sybert and Democrat Brad Sherman offers serious competition in the sparks-will-fly department.

Otherwise, with due respect to hard-charging candidates, demography is expected to be destiny in districts having lopsided voter-registration numbers, which make it difficult for one party or the other to score an upset.

The San Fernando Valley has the only two open congressional seats in California. Both became available by the retirement of veteran lawmakers--Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale) in the 27th District and Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) in the 24th District.

The intense battle for control of Congress, coupled with the widely held view that either party could come out on top in these suburban districts, have elevated these races to the national radar screen.

Businessman Sybert, who almost knocked off Beilenson two years ago, and state Board of Equalization member Sherman are both positioning themselves as centrist candidates in the upscale, Democratic-leaning 24th, which stretches from Van Nuys to Thousand Oaks, with roughly 75% of it in the San Fernando Valley.

Although many view the race as a tossup, GOP consultant Allan Hoffenblum said, “I think it tilts Democratic.”

One issue on which the two have differed sharply is tobacco regulation, with Sherman favoring more and Sybert opposed to further regulation of the industry by Congress.

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By contrast, the East Valley-Glendale-Burbank congressional race presents clear, philosophical demarcations up and down the line.

It would be difficult to confuse the pro-choice, pro-gun control, anti-school voucher views of Democrat Doug Kahn, an heir to the Annenberg fortune, with the anti-abortion, anti-gun control, pro-school voucher social conservative agenda of his opponent, Assemblyman James Rogan (R-Glendale), a former judge and prosecutor.

As majority leader of the Assembly, Rogan was Speaker Curt Pringle’s chief legislative lieutenant this year in a session remarkable for its production of legislation sought by the religious right.

A long-standing GOP stronghold, the 27th has grown increasingly Democratic of late. The latest figures show Democrats with a 1% registration edge--typically not nearly enough to prevail. But, Kahn said, the yet-to-be-announced results of a voter-registration drive will boost that narrow margin to 3% or 4% by election day.

The district also has a large swing vote, an estimated 25%, said Kahn, who has run twice unsuccessfully against Moorhead.

“This is a district of people who really examine the issues and the candidates,” Kahn said. “There’s a big swing vote . . . and I’ve always gotten a lot of it.”

But Rogan is a crowd-pleaser.

“I’ve got to give Rogan the advantage,” Hoffenblum said. “He’s popular and an able campaigner.”

The Rogan-Kahn philosophical split is mirrored in the state races in the area, which pit unabashedly social conservative Republicans against Democrats, who call themselves moderate, law-and-order Democrats, but who are called liberal by their opponents.

It’s still quite early in the election cycle and the 21st state Senate District candidate, Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills), has already sent a mailer warning voters not to “shift to the left,” an apparent play on opponent Adam Schiff’s name.

Whether she can persuade voters that a former federal prosecutor whose main issue is juvenile-justice reform is a liberal remains to be seen, but Boland campaign advisor Scott Wilk said the campaign mailer was a fair comment on Schiff’s previously stated views.

Boland was sued for libel by primary opponent Bob Oltman for a mailer that incorrectly said he opposed two death penalty propositions. Burbank Superior Court Judge David Schacter on Friday refused a bid by Boland to throw out the case, saying Oltman had established a “probability he will prevail” at trial.

Many consultants anticipate this race will be a dogfight, abetted by major dollars courtesy of GOP state Senate Majority Leader Rob Hurtt and Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, who have more than a passing interest in having the seat in their caucuses.

Hurtt has targeted the district, long represented by retiring Sen. Newt Russell (R-Glendale), as a seat that must be retained by the GOP. Lockyer, meanwhile, is eyeing the district as fertile ground for a Democratic takeover, an interest no doubt helped along by the enmity he developed for Boland during their fight over her Valley secession bill this summer.

Schiff, who has lost in prior attempts to win public office, continues to work tirelessly in the district, walking precincts, raising money and stressing his grasp of local issues and support from local officials, particularly all the fire departments and all but one police department in the district.

Split the 21st Senate District in two and you have the side-by-side 43rd and 44th Assembly districts, where the other two hot East Valley races will be waged.

The 44th, which includes parts of Sunland-Tujunga, as well as Pasadena and San Marino, has an incumbent, Assemblyman Bill Hoge (R-Pasadena), best known as the author of the chemical castration for child-molesters bill recently passed by the Legislature and signed into law.

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Although incumbents tend to have an edge, Hoge faces an aggressive challenge this year from popular former Pasadena College President Jack Scott, a Democrat.

Hoge is considered vulnerable because of reports two years ago, which he denied, that he has a gambling problem. He has carried numerous bills for the gaming industry in Sacramento.

Like Boland, Hoge is already on the attack through the mail. Both he and Scott are well-funded, though Scott failed to make the top priority list of Assembly Democrats.

In the 43rd District next door, which includes Glendale and Burbank, newcomers John Geranios, a Republican, and Scott Wildman, a Democrat, are running. Geranios, a wealthy businessman, has mended fences after a nasty GOP primary and he has money and electoral tradition on his side.

The district has a history of electing conservative Republicans such as Rogan and former Assemblyman Pat Nolan.

Wildman, a teacher who works for United Teachers-Los Angeles, has strong labor backing, but has not attracted even as much attention from the state party as Scott, which means he will not receive the infusion of cash needed to match Geranios’ deep pockets.

In other legislative races, three incumbent congressmen, whose districts are heavily weighted toward their parties, are expected to be returned to Washington.

In the heavily Republican 25th District in the northwest San Fernando Valley and Antelope Valley, Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) is seeking reelection to a third term. The former mayor of Santa Clarita is being challenged by Democrat Diane Troutman, a Santa Clarita homemaker.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City), who flirted with running for mayor of Los Angeles, is concentrating on winning a seventh term in Congress. CPA Bill Glass, a Sherman Oaks Republican, is his opponent in a strongly Democratic 26th District centered in the East Valley.

Berman’s longtime ally Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) is the third Valley incumbent seeking reelection, from the 29th District, which is split between the Westside and the Valley. Waxman’s opponent is GOP businessman Paul Stepanek.

Assemblyman Pete Knight (R-Palmdale) is the front-runner to move up to the state Senate seat that became available by the retirement of Sen. Don Rogers. Democrat Steven A. Figueroa is the other major party candidate in this heavily Republican 17th state Senate District.

Another Republican-leaning enclave is the 19th Senate District, which pairs the northwest San Fernando Valley with the Simi Valley. Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) is the incumbent here. She is being challenged by Democrat John Birke, an attorney from Northridge.

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The final contested state Senate race is in the 23rd District, which includes much of the West Valley and the Westside. The seat is now held by Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), who is being challenged by Republican Scott L. Schreiber of West Hills.

The district is deemed “safe” for Hayden by GOP consultant Hoffenblum, and Schreiber consultant Jonathan Kolkey concedes that his candidate has not attracted campaign dollars.

Still, Kolkey offers a scenario in which Democrats who still harbor bad feelings for Hayden 30 years after his antiwar protests will vote for a moderate Republican such as Schreiber if there is sufficient money to introduce him to voters.

Several of the Valley Assembly contests were all but decided in contested primaries in districts whose boundaries favor one or the other party.

Lancaster businessman George Runner Jr. is running for Knight’s 36th District Assembly seat against Santa Clarita employee relations representative David Cochran. The district is staunchly Republican.

Former Republican Assemblyman Tom McClintock is favored to win a return ticket to Sacramento as Boland’s successor in the GOP-leaning 38th Assembly District centered in the northwest Valley. Teacher Jon M. Lauritzen, a Democrat, is running uphill trying to catch McClintock.

Democrats usually hold sway in the 39th District, a seat open this year because Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman (D-North Hollywood) is termed out. Businessman Tony Cardenas, who won a hard-fought primary victory, is the front-runner here. If he wins, Cardenas would become the first Latino legislator sent to the state Capitol from the Valley. Businessman Ollie M. McCaulley from Sun Valley is the GOP candidate.

Another Democratic-leaning district is the 40th, opened by longtime Assemblyman Richard Katz’s involuntary retirement due to term limits. Sherman Oaks resident Bob Hertzberg is the Democrat running against North Hollywood businessman David L. Cossak.

Assemblywoman Sheila James Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) made a big splash during her first term as a lawmaker from the 41st Assembly District, and most politicos expect her to win reelection, despite the more centrist leanings of voters of the swing district she represents. GOP businessman Mark Boos Benhard of Calabasas will try to prevent that.

Finally, Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) is also seeking a second term in the 42nd District, which is mostly a Westside district that dips over the hills east of the San Diego Freeway.

Knox is being opposed by business owner Mark Ross, a West Hollywood resident.