GOP Group Backs Gallegly Over Hope for Congress

The California Republican Assembly, the state’s largest volunteer political organization, has endorsed Elton Gallegly in the GOP primary for the 21st Congressional District seat.

Gallegly, mayor of Simi Valley, and Tony Hope, a lawyer and the son of entertainer Bob Hope, are two of those competing for the Republican nomination in the June 3 contest. The congressional seat is now held by Rep. Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge), who is running for the U.S. Senate.

Local Republican Assembly delegates met with Gallegly, a member of their group, and Hope over the weekend before endorsing Gallegly on a 13-1 vote. The local endorsement is automatically considered a statewide endorsement.

The vote came shortly after a third GOP contender won a court battle for a spot on the ballot. Tom La Porte, 38, a Thousand Oaks stockbroker, was granted the right Friday to enter the race when a Ventura County Superior Court judge ruled that he missed the filing deadline because of erroneous information provided him by the county clerk’s office.

Gallegly’s strong ties in the community, his aggressiveness in pursuing the nomination and his campaign’s large volunteer force of 300 were some of the factors that prompted the lopsided outcome, said Nick Davidovich, president of the Republican Assembly’s West San Fernando Valley unit.

An endorsement from the California Republican Assembly, a conservative group, often enables a candidate to attract volunteers and more campaign contributions, said Diane Jacobs, a CRA officer.

The group’s endorsement may help Gallegly overcome Hope’s expected advantage in financing. At least one would-be candidate, Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) backed away from the race when Hope entered. McClintock said he feared Hope’s name identification because of his famous father and expected his financial resources would prove an insurmountable obstacle.

McClintock had speculated that Hope would be able to raise close to $1 million. But Hope has said he expects to spend just $250,000, adding that he could raise more if necessary. Gallegly has said he expects to have about $400,000.

Gallegly called the endorsement “very important.”

“This was our first one-on-one with Mr. Hope,” he said. “I felt very happy we were able to leave with the endorsement.”

Despite Gallegly’s overwhelming victory, CRA representatives praised both men.

“They are both excellent candidates,” Jacobs said. “It was a tough choice.”

Davidovich said the delegates concluded that Hope understood the workings of Congress better but that Gallegly was much more familiar with the district. The delegates, he said, felt Gallegly could overcome his shortcoming more easily than Hope could his.

Hope said the CRA’s endorsement of his opponent came as no surprise. Hope said he believes the CRA endorsed Gallegly in recognition of the mayor’s longtime involvement in Republican politics in the district.

Hope, although a San Fernando Valley native, returned to the district only recently, after he decided to run for Congress. Hope had been a partner at the Big Eight accounting firm of Touche Ross & Co. in Washington and a member of President Reagan’s Grace Commission, which was formed to find waste and fraud in the government.

Gallegly’s endorsement, Hope said, will “steel my resolve and once again tells me I have an uphill battle.”