GOP Seeks to Regain Ground as Demographics Shift

With Democrats Jack Scott and Scott Wildman flying the Assembly coop next year to square off against one another for the state Senate, Democrats could face a stiff challenge from Republicans looking to recapture ground in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.

In 1996, Scott (D-Altadena) and Wildman (D-Los Angeles) made history by winning in districts that had been safe GOP seats for decades.

Demographic trends continue to shift in favor of Democrats, as more Latinos and Asian Americans--traditional Democratic voters--move into the district, and there is no shortage of Dems looking to make the jump to Sacramento.

However, Republicans are not going to give up without a fight.

Now that Scott and Wildman are officially preparing to compete for the right to succeed Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) in next spring’s Democratic primary for the 21st Senate District, Republican candidates are moving to make strong runs for their seats. Schiff, incidentally, is aiming to complete the Democratic domination by taking on Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale) next year in what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested congressional races in the nation.

After losing the GOP primary race to face Wildman four years ago, attorney Craig Missakian, a former county prosecutor, is gearing up for another run in the Glendale-based 43rd Assembly District. He will face off for the GOP nomination against Elizabeth Michael, the chief executive officer of computer firm Analon Inc., who ran for the Legislature in 1990 and 1988. He expects a tight race.

“Certainly, the demographics have changed in the last 10 to 15 years,” said Missakian, a lifelong Glendale resident. “The Democrats have an edge in registration, so it’s not the district I grew up in. But I still think it’s a district where a Republican message of smaller government and lower taxes will resonate strongly here. I think what Democrats are standing for in Sacramento these days are out of touch with this district.”

Several Democrats have either declared or are said to be considering campaigns for the Wildman seat, including Los Angeles city ethics commissioner Paul Kerkorian, an entertainment lawyer, and Dario Frommer, the appointments secretary to Gov. Gray Davis and a former aide to onetime state Sen. Art Torres.

Among the Republicans looking to reclaim Pasadena’s 44th District for the GOP is Susan Carpenter McMillan, an antiabortion activist who is perhaps best known as the former spokeswoman for Clinton accuser Paula Jones. Also said to be considering a run is attorney and former Pasadena Councilman Bill Thompson.

But several Democrats are also vying to keep this seat in their party’s hands. They include La Canada Flintridge Mayor Carol Liu, a former San Francisco schoolteacher, and former Screen Actors Guild president Barry Gordon, who narrowly lost a congressional bid last year to Rogan.

Gordon, who plans to formally declare his candidacy within the next two weeks, said Democrats are hardly resting on their laurels.

“Every indication I have is that the Democratic Party is going to do whatever it takes to keep these seats,” Gordon said. “These have to be considered Democratic-leaning seats at this point, but we have to take these threats very seriously, especially if Susan Carpenter McMillan wins. She has the ability to raise a lot of money.”

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One minute, he was spotted among the multitudes clamoring for a little sugary salvation at the grand opening of a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop in Van Nuys, the first in L.A. The next, he was spiritedly touting the virtues of lower milk prices.

Anyone see a self-interested trend developing in the public actions of Councilman Joel Wachs?

All joking aside, Wachs, who lives in Studio City, can get downright poetic when discussing the ambrosia-like offerings at Krispy Kreme. He posed with franchise owners to mark the historic occasion, downed a doughnut in front of the television news cameras, and delivered a mayoral proclamation that declared Tuesday official Krispy Kreme day.

“Exquisite nourishment of the soul,” is how he described his treat. “This is the best thing to happen to L.A. since Pink’s hot dogs.”

When Wachs remarked that he eats “a lot of doughnuts,” he was asked to elaborate.

“Let’s just say I can hang with the best of the police officers” was his reply.

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Given that his conservative ally and former chief of staff, Simi Valley school board president Norm Walker, is running to succeed him, it would seem that Assemblyman Tom McClintock would not have to think a second before making an endorsement.

That is not the case.

McClintock (R-Northridge) is refusing to endorse any of the candidates vying for the GOP primary nomination for the 38th Assembly District, which includes the northwest San Fernando Valley, and some Republicans are speculating that there is a reason. McClintock, they say, is angry with Walker for running after promising to help McClintock in his own race for the 19th District state Senate seat being vacated by Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley).

Not so, according to McClintock. He says he simply does not want to take sides in a contested primary, even if that means passing over his former top aide.

“I have my own race to run,” McClintock said. “It’s no secret, I am very fond of Norm, I have a very high opinion of him.”

Walker, who has been endorsed by Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks and McClintock’s Assembly predecessor, Paula Boland, said he is not concerned about McClintock’s nonendorsement.

“I’d love to have Tom’s endorsement, but I know that I do have his support,” Walker said. “As far as the issues are concerned, we fall right down the line.

“Endorsements matter in raising money, so they matter in getting your message out,” Walker added. “But I don’t think, in the final analysis, that voters are too concerned about that.”

Although he says it did not influence his decision not to endorse in the race, McClintock acknowledged that he thought he and Walker had reached an understanding when Walker joined his staff that he would not use the job as a springboard.

“I never gave him any advice on whether to run,” McClintock said. “What I told him was, you can’t run for the Assembly and be on my staff. He decided to join me as my chief of staff. But later, he decided to heed the call.”

Whatever the case, Walker is now lagging badly in the race for endorsements.

Keith Richman, a Valley doctor and Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency commissioner who has served as a health care advisor to Republicans in Congress, has locked up endorsements from nearly every prominent public official in the area, including Mayor Richard Riordan, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), Councilman Hal Bernson, Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels, and the entire Simi Valley City Council.

Oh, and Richman also has the endorsement of Wright, who, incidentally, is refusing to endorse McClintock, an old party foe, for her seat.

“I would not endorse Tom McClintock if he was the last man on earth,” Wright said.

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Late last year, Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg and state Sen. Richard Alarcon got a firsthand taste of domestic terrorism threats when they had to vacate their Van Nuys district offices due to anthrax scares at the nearby Van Nuys courthouse.

Both were independently planning to pursue legislation on the issue when they teamed up to pass a bill toughening the criminal penalties for terrorist threats involving chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction. On Wednesday, that bill, the “Hertzberg-Alarcon California Prevention of Terrorism Act,” was signed into law by Gov. Davis.

“It was a very frantic experience for both our staffs when they were evacuated, all because of a threat by someone who didn’t want to go to court that day,” said Alarcon, in Kentucky as part of a leadership fellowship. “This bill that we’ve developed will send a strong message to anyone who thinks of using these types of weapons.”

Times staff writers Jeffrey Gettleman and Karima A. Haynes contributed to this report.