Rogan May Face Repercussions

Rep. James E. Rogan’s political career has been marked by constant upturns: California’s youngest judge in 1990. Assembly majority leader during his first term in 1996. Congressman later that same year.

Since taking a leading role in impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, Rogan (R-Glendale) has seen his political fame reach its highest level yet. But this time, his perch may be precarious.

The boyish-looking man with the notoriously lousy haircut and the up-by-the-bootstraps life story is the only Californian on the team of House Republicans prosecuting the case against Clinton before the Senate. And the 41-year-old member is making the most of the opportunity. He has appeared frequently on television, where he has smoothly articulated the House lawyers’ positions.

But how is it all that exposure playing back home?

Once a Republican stronghold, Rogan’s 27th District--which includes the communities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino and La Canada Flintridge--is in the midst of transition.

Once an old-money bastion, Pasadena has become increasingly diverse with fast-growing Latino and Asian populations. An influx of Asians has also changed the look of the smaller cities of South Pasadena, San Marino and La Canada Flintridge. To the west, middle-class Glendale has become the center of the Los Angeles-area Armenian community. And Burbank has fully blossomed into a major entertainment center settled by many young entertainment industry employees.

Democrats now make up the majority of voters in the district--and their edge is growing every year.

Last November, Rogan bested Democratic challenger Barry Gordon, an attorney and former Screen Actors Guild president, by a slim 3% margin in a race dominated by the impeachment issue; Rogan’s Pasadena headquarters was the site of an anti-impeachment rally.

Now that his involvement in the impeachment debate has deepened, some political observers are predicting that the issue will dog Rogan again in 2000, when stronger Democratic opposition is expected. Among those said to be considering a run against the congressman are popular state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Pasadena).

“Rogan’s part of this group that’s out for Clinton’s hide,” said Dick Rosengarten, publisher of CalPEEK, an insiders’ political newsletter. “I don’t care how sage he sounds and how smart he looks. People don’t like this impeachment thing one bit and it’s going to haunt him.”

Rogan, who appeared Thursday before the Senate as the House prosecutors outlined their case against the president, acknowledged that his newfound visibility is not likely to go over well with many of his constituents. But he said that is not what weighs most heavily on his mind.

“I can read the polls as well as the next guy,” Rogan said. “I realize this is not popular. If doing what my conscience tells me to do means I’m not going to be reelected, so be it.

“You can accept it as trite,” he added, “but I’ll tell you what’s in my heart. I have to leave here with my integrity intact. Whether I leave due to old age or due to an election defeat, I want to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘I never flinched.’ ”

Whatever the case, Rogan--a high-school dropout from a broken family who put himself through UCLA Law School and later embraced conservatism--is clearly taking the threat of a backlash seriously. He has sent out more than 4,000 letters to constituents who have contacted his office about Clinton’s impeachment. Each is accompanied by a copy of Rogan’s remarks to the House Judiciary Committee explaining his position.

“You ought to see some of the letters I get,” Rogan said. “I had someone call me and say, ‘I’m ashamed I sent money to you.’ I sent him his money back.”

Not surprisingly, many constituents who were not enamored of Rogan before are saying that they like him even less now, while many who strongly supported him in the fall still do.

“He’s a headline-getter,” said James Dunn of Glendale, a registered Democrat, as he sipped coffee with a friend at the Glendale Galleria. “He’s making a name for himself at the expense of someone else. That’s what all these low-down dirty politicians do.”

“He’s got a job to do, and he’s doing it fairly,” said Joyce Ayvazi of the Women’s Civic League of Glendale, which hosted a luncheon for Rogan last fall. “I think he follows his conscience and the people I talk to say they’re proud to have him representing us.”

Although a Democrat, Tim Murphy, a Superior Court commissioner and former Burbank councilman, said he has twice voted for Rogan. Murphy and Rogan amicably settled some cases a decade ago when Rogan was a prosecutor and Murphy was a public defender, and Murphy said he respects Rogan’s opinions--even if he does not always agree with them.

“My feeling is that America’s tired of seeing partisan politics and we’re seeing more of it, not less,” Murphy said. “But in my opinion, he has acted based on what he thought the law required of him. A lot of people lead based on the latest opinion polls. I don’t think Jim is someone who puts his finger in the air to test the political winds.”

Larry Zarian, a former MTA head and longtime Glendale councilman who hosts a local radio talk show, agreed. Rogan’s views have not changed in recent months--and the views he hears on the air are usually favorable, he said.

“Many callers are showing pride that he was chosen as one of the 13 prosecutors,” Zarian said. “Many are upset at him. It goes down party lines. Those that are saying, ‘no more,’ are the same ones that were saying that from the beginning.”

Like their counterparts around the nation, a majority of Rogan’s constituents opposes impeachment.

A post-election poll of San Gabriel Valley voters by Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government found that only 24% of respondents wanted their representatives to vote for impeachment.

Yet despite the apparent strong sentiment against Rogan’s actions, politics professor Alan Heslop said he believes Rogan will wind up benefiting because he has tackled the impeachment issue seriously.

“Can Rogan make political hay out of his principled involvement in impeachment? I believe if anyone can, Rogan can,” Heslop said. “Though his positions may be unpopular in the short run, he is making a mark on voters that will ultimately help him.

“Here’s a young congressman who’s getting as much ink as any of his fellows, and I see him making these points much more eloquently.”