Four Democrats Vie for Chance to Reclaim Horn’s Seat

Eight years after an upset victory by former Cal State Long Beach President Steve Horn delivered the 38th Congressional District into Republican hands, national Democratic leaders believe they have a shot at winning back the seat--and the House majority--this fall.

But first comes the March 7 primary, a four-way battle for the Democratic nomination in this largely blue-collar district, which encompasses Bellflower, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, Paramount, Signal Hill and most of Long Beach, its largest city. The winner will then face Horn, a political moderate who is unopposed on the Republican side.

Several key Democratic congressional leaders have recruited political neophyte Ellen Gruwell, a 30-year-old California Teacher of the Year, whose work with urban youngsters brought her national attention.

Political observers say her strongest competitor is Gerrie Schipske, a nurse-practitioner, health care attorney and part-time college teacher with a long record of activism in Long Beach. In a 1996 state Assembly race, Schipske came close to defeating the incumbent, Steven T. Kuykendall (R-Rancho Palos Verdes), now a congressman.

Also in the Democratic race are Ken Graham, a college professor and military officer from Lakewood, and Peter Mathews, who has repeatedly run for the seat and in 1998 lost to Horn, 53% to 44%.

The winner of the primary will carry the hopes of the national party as it seeks to wrest control of the House of Representatives from the GOP. Democrats need to gain six seats across the country to do that.

“It’s a very winnable district for Democrats . . . a real opportunity,” said John del Cecato, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. That committee, which is officially neutral in this primary, is considering putting money and other aid into the 38th District for the November election.

On paper, the district seems promising for Democrats, whose registration tops Republicans’, 51% to 32%. The area’s state legislators are all Democrats, and the district voted for Bill Clinton both times he was on the presidential ballot.

But Democrats also have their work cut out for them. In 1992, Horn beat Democratic Long Beach Councilman Evan Anderson Braude for the open seat in what was then a newly redrawn district.

Horn has won reelection three times since, including a race in which he fended off a well-financed challenge by Democrat Rick Zbur in 1996, and Republican leaders do not see much of a threat to him this time around.

“Steve Horn has lasted and remained strong through four tough elections,” said Marit Babin, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “He hasn’t needed our help in the past, and I would think this year would not be any different. He has a strong record of achievement, and he is well positioned financially and politically.”

If that perception changes after the primary and the district winds up on the Democrats’ priority list of targeted seats, the GOP will pull out all the stops for Horn, Babin acknowledged.

Allan Hoffenblum, a seasoned Republican political consultant whose nonpartisan California Target Book tracks legislative and congressional races, said national Democratic leaders probably will think hard before spending money and effort against an incumbent like Horn who has shown staying power.

On the other hand, Hoffenblum said, Democrats are expected to raise huge sums of money in an all-out effort to recapture the House majority they lost in 1994.

Initially, many local observers saw Schipske as the likely primary front-runner. Before her showing against Kuykendall, Schipske defeated an incumbent for a seat on the Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees in 1992.

Schipske has endorsements from several labor groups, including the county and state Federation of Labor, two local Democratic clubs and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) (Boxer has subsequently also endorsed Gruwell.)

Saying Horn has become increasingly out of touch with the district, Schipske promises to work for health-care reform, education and tax relief for working families.

Schipske said she had been assured by the congressional house leaders that they would “let the voters decide in this district who will be the nominee.”

“Each of [the Democratic candidates] has a constituency. . . . It would not be wise [for the national party] to step into the middle of that,” Schipske said.

But Democratic insiders said Gruwell decided to run at the urging of Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.).

Kennedy had heard about Gruwell and the “Freedom Writers,” her Wilson High students from Long Beach whose essays about tolerance brought them several appearances on network television, a tour of Holocaust death camps in Europe and a foundation to provide them with money for college.

Gruwell said Kennedy approached her about running during a visit to Los Angeles last October, as she and her students were beginning a tour to promote their just-published book about urban life. Then Gephardt called and invited her to Washington, where she met with other Democratic representatives, including Loretta Sanchez of Orange County, who is hosting a fund-raiser for Gruwell next week.

She said had never run for office before but was intrigued by the possibility of putting her education experience and organizing skills to work in another arena.

Once she announced her candidacy in early December, Gruwell moved quickly to mobilize volunteers (including many of her students and their parents).

By the end of the year, Gruwell had raised $74,154; Schipske, her closest fund-raising competitor, had brought in $17,405, campaign finance records show.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram recently backed Gruwell for her party’s nomination (although the editorial contained almost as much criticism as praise) and a number of Democratic clubs have signed on. And last weekend, Gruwell won the state party’s endorsement.

Of the other Democrats, Mathews, a professor of American government and international relations at Cypress College, has said his goals include providing for higher-paying jobs, affordable education, preservation of Social Security and Medicare and campaign finance reform. Among his backers are Democratic Assemblymen Dick Floyd of Carson and Carl Washington of Los Angeles.

Graham teaches constitutional law at Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College and is Desert Storm military veteran. A Lakewood resident, he calls for repeal of federal flood insurance requirements for area homeowners and wants to improve education, reduce taxes and reform Social Security.

The Libertarian Party is fielding contractor Jack Neglia, and Karen Blasdell-Wilkinson, a scientific research director, is on the ballot for the Natural Law Party.