Sherman Credits Moderation for His Win

While Democratic congressional candidate Brad Sherman on Wednesday declared his election victory to be a show of support for his sensible and moderate views, his Republican opponent, Rich Sybert, was blaming his loss on Bob Dole.

“It is a nice victory and a vote of confidence,” Sherman said after winning 50.4% of the vote in the 24th Congressional District that includes the western San Fernando Valley, portions of Ventura County and some coastal areas. Sybert picked up 42.5% of votes cast Tuesday.

Election officials have more than 20,000 absentee ballots to count, but they do not expect the tallies to turn around Sherman’s lead of 15,213 votes.

Sybert called Sherman late Wednesday afternoon to offer his congratulations after the bitterly fought race.

“He conceded and wished me well,” Sherman said. “He was gracious.”

Sybert was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

But his campaign manager, John Theiss, said Sybert blames his poor showing, in part, on the premature concession announcement by GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole’s spokesman, made a couple of hours before California’s polls closed Tuesday evening.

“Our phone banks got an alarming response from Republicans,” Theiss said. “They told us, ‘Why should I go vote? The race is over.’ We lay considerable blame at the top of the ticket.”

Sherman offered a different interpretation of the outcome, saying his moderate views on issues were more appealing to voters looking for an appropriate successor to retiring Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills).

“I’m not going back to Washington as a freshman thinking that I’m going to lead the country in a whole new direction,” he said.

“I’m going back there to be a part of what I hope is a sensible and moderate Congress.”

Sherman will assume his new office in January, abandoning his seat on the five-member State Board of Equalization.

Gov. Pete Wilson has the power to appoint someone to fill out the remaining two years of Sherman’s term on the obscure but powerful board that hears income tax appeals and oversees the collection of business taxes.

“My hope is that the governor will appoint a CPA or a certified tax specialist to fill out the remainder of my term,” said Sherman, who has a reputation as the board’s policy wonk, as its only certified public accountant and tax lawyer.

Sherman said he plans to work on relieving the unseen costs of government regulations on certain businesses and hopes to parlay his skills as a tax expert to land a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee.

“I want to work to improve each piece of legislation,” Sherman said. “I want to focus on ways we can trim the bureaucracy and the budget.”

He said he has no earthshaking ideas he will unveil as a new member of Congress. Instead, he vowed to solicit suggestions from constituents on how to best represent his new district.

Looking ahead two years, Sherman said he knows he will face a tough reelection campaign. He plans to return to his home in Sherman Oaks “virtually every weekend” to meet with constituents and get to know voters in the district.

“I’ll be back an awful lot,” he said. “Some of the folks at the various business clubs may get tired of me.”

Sybert spent about $610,000 of his own money in this congressional race and an earlier bid for the seat two years ago. He was much closer to victory in 1994--coming within 3,536 votes of ousting Beilenson from office.

Theiss said he did not know if Sybert, an attorney and toy company executive, would consider a third bid for Congress.

“He has put his life on hold for four years and now it is time for him to spend time with his family and consider all of his options,” Theiss said.

Sherman said he popped the question when Sybert called.

“I did ask him if he was likely to run for the seat in 1998,” Sherman said, “And he said he hasn’t had time to focus on what he would do.”