Badham Vexing to Friends, Foes : Globe-Trotting Congressman Confident as He Runs for Sixth Term

Despite staff warnings that his globe-trotting would generate controversy--as it has in the past--Rep. Robert E. Badham (R--Newport Beach) joined a House Armed Services Committee trip to the South Pole in January that included stops in Tahiti, Fiji and New Zealand.

Less than a month later, Congress Watch, a Washington public interest group, reported for the second time in two years that Badham had traveled abroad at the taxpayers’ expense more than any other U.S. congressman but one, Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.).

Such a dubious distinction might send other congressmen scurrying for cover. But Badham, emboldened by his electoral success in a traditional Republican district, has challenged critics of his globe-trotting junkets to “vote for someone else.”

And when he was attacked for spending campaign funds on $500 dresses for his wife, gifts to friends and dinnerware for his home, Badham dared donors to ask for their money back.

Such behavior epitomizes the veteran congressman’s “stubborn streak,” said Gus Owen, a member of the prestigious Lincoln Club of Orange County, a wealthy GOP volunteer organization.

Others, like Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) attribute Badham’s behavior to his “country-club attitude.”

Dornan, who supports Badham for reelection, said: “He votes as conservatively on the issues as anyone in the county delegation, but he provokes a certain negative response. He carries the air of rich, Republican clubism, of riding in limos and jet-setting around the world. He’s not in the trenches politically, in the House. He’s a limousine conservative and my God, we sure have enough of those in the Republican Party already.”

At 56, Badham, a former hardware company vice president, is serving his fifth two-year term in the House and is the senior member of the county’s Washington delegation. His district includes Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, El Toro and parts of Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and Tustin.

Badham’s supporters--and there are many--brush aside complaints about his travel, saying that it is a necessary part of his job on the Armed Services Committee and other congressional responsibilities.

They also praise him for voting in line with conservative, Reagan Administration positions on national issues, including support for increased defense spending and limits on abortions.

Moreover, Badham is regarded as an expert on complicated weapons systems, and is sought out by businesses trying to sort out their dealings with the federal bureaucracy.

24 Victories

This helps explain why Badham--divorced, remarried and the father of five children--has a record, unbroken string of 24 election victories since he first ran for the state Assembly in 1962.

But after nine years in Congress, Badham’s behavior has begun to rankle local officials in his district and even members of his own party. His aloofness and globe-trotting activities, for example, are cited by House members as reasons why he was removed last year in a secret ballot as an executive member of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

And it may also be a reason why Badham now faces a strong election challenge from Nathan Rosenberg, a 33-year-old management consultant who served last year as chairman of the county Young Republicans. He and Rosenberg will face off in the June 3 GOP primary.

Rosenberg, running a well-financed campaign, has focused on Badham’s travel, his use of campaign funds and absenteeism. These same issues have been used against Badham by Democrats in previous elections without success. Meanwhile, Badham has fought back with charges that Rosenberg’s campaign is based on his ties to est, a human-potential group founded by Rosenberg’s brother, Werner Erhard, which combines Zen, Scientology and Erhard’s own philosophies (est stands for Erhard seminars training). Rosenberg has denied the accusations.

Seniority Stressed

Badham’s campaign has also stressed his seniority in Congress. However, the congressman’s “stubborn streak” has surfaced regularly in his congressional activities.

For example, Badham was among the only four House members who voted against a famine relief appropriation for drought-stricken African countries. Explaining that vote, Badham said, “if for no other reason than to demonstrate that there’s another opinion, I would vote that way.”

Badham added that food distribution systems were inadequate to handle more food aid at the time of the 1984 vote.

Also, Badham’s colleagues said he routinely votes against military reforms sought even by members of his own party, and, as a ranking GOP member of the House Armed Services Committee, is an unwavering defender of defense contractors.

Even when fellow Republican House members abandoned support for the technically and financially troublesome Sgt. York anti-aircraft gun, produced by Ford Aerospace in his district, Badham lobbied Pentagon officials right up until Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger killed the program.

Opposition to New Wells

The Newport Beach congressman also refused to negotiate with Interior Department officials last year when they first proposed new oil drilling for offshore areas along the Orange County coast. He cited his long-standing opposition to any new wells off the coast of his district, even though he knew that other congressmen were successfully lobbying to place more wells there in order to protect their own districts.

Also, as the county’s last congressional holdout, Badham refused to support the $1.2-billion Santa Ana River flood-control project until the cost of the project dropped. He was strongly criticized for his initial refusal to support a project considered to be of vital importance to Orange County.

Finally, Badham steadfastly opposed a Reagan Administration plan to close the U.S. Travel and Tourism office--a Badham favorite--despite his votes favoring far more sensitive budget cuts.

Critics Challenged

“I admit that I am a hypocrite,” the congressman said, challenging critics to prove they’re any different.

He can also be exasperating to staff members. A former Badham aide explained that he had once advised Badham to improve his image by attending more district political functions, taking fewer trips abroad and anticipating issues before they arise.

“I told him several times that he shouldn’t cancel public appearances at the last minute, but he thought nothing of it,” said the former aide, who requested anonymity.

“He would agree to talk to groups and then, upon arriving in the district office, tell us that he wasn’t going to go, that he’d rather go have dinner on a friend’s yacht, or go somewhere else, and we’d sit there dumbfounded. And then he’d make us call the group he was scheduled to speak to and tell them he was too busy and couldn’t make it.”

Officials Angered

Badham once boasted that his district was a “Shangri-La” and had no pressing needs. The comment angered beleaguered city officials in his district, who grapple with problems such as housing, airport noise, transportation and cuts in federal spending for local services.

Despite these criticisms, the veteran congressman does not lack for supporters. Washington colleagues have praised him as an expert on military weapons systems, especially so-called “black” (secret) projects, such as those involved in President Reagan’s Strategic Defense (or “Star Wars”) Initiative.

And Badham is sought out, mostly because of his reputation for helping businesses deal with the Washington establishment, as seen during a day last fall, spent with Badham in the nation’s capital.

Early on, Badham’s office was turned into a command post for an Orange County firm battling legislative efforts to curtail use of its automatic egg-cracking machine. Like a battlefield commander, Badham listened to reports from company officials about their lobbying successes and failures from the previous day. Then he offered new strategies and took a tough line in a phone call to a Food and Drug Administration official, whose subordinates were wavering on the issue of the egg machine’s safety. Eventually, he took his arguments to the House floor.

Company Sought Help

Later, executives from Anaheim-based ALS Corp. also sought Badham’s help. ALS has been the only manufacturer of an energy converter used on some Navy ships, but the company is threatened financially by new rules requiring the Pentagon to seek competition among contractors and to develop secondary sources for both services and equipment. The goal would be to obtain lower prices and speedier deliveries.

Badham strongly opposed the new rules, contending that companies such as ALS risk their capital to develop proprietary products, only to be eventually underbid by defense conglomerates.

After lunch, Badham met behind closed doors with a U.S. Air Force procurement officer to complain about the way a base commander was allegedly mishandling the procurement of wing struts available from an Orange County supplier.

Months later, executives from these firms praised Badham’s efforts, which had been successful in each case.

For instance, ALS spokesman Noel Gould said: “He did what we asked of him, even though he does not represent the city (Anaheim) where our business is located. . . . We felt we should go to Badham because he’s on the Armed Services Committee. We were right.”

Barely Known

Despite such activism, Badham is barely known outside the committee or the California delegation, according to interviews with both Republican and Democratic House members, their staffs and political scientists.

Norm Ornstein, a political scientist with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said Badham is “one of the larger mass of minority members . . . He is not a visible figure inside the House.”

Some local officeholders in Badham’s district have criticized his low profile. Last summer, for example, officials from coastal cities in the district accused Badham of ignoring them in their fight against offshore oil drilling.

Badham explained at the time that he was swamped by work at the Armed Services Committee and could not give district officials up-to-the-minute briefings on the latest Interior Department plans for offshore oil exploration.

Evelyn R. Hart, a Newport Beach councilwoman and staunch Republican, said, “Sometimes in the past he (Badham) has acted like his district doesn’t exist.

“I threatened to run against him five years ago because he hadn’t done anything on the threat of offshore oil drilling. Does that sound familiar? Here we are dealing with that same threat again.”

Nevertheless, Hart has agreed to advise Badham on local issues in this campaign and has endorsed his reelection.

Disappointed by Badham

Other city and county officials, including some members of the Board of Supervisors, said they, too, were disappointed by Badham’s performance in office. These officials, who asked not to be identified for fear of political retaliation, cited instances of Badham’s slow response to problems, and some cases when he failed to respond at all.

Such officials agreed with the county’s Washington lobbyist, James McConnell, who said Badham is “slow to come around” on issues important to local officials. McConnell said Badham doesn’t get involved in district issues until there’s a brouhaha that gets him “charged up.”

Badham agreed that McConnell’s assessment is “probably true.”

Interviewed between appointments in his Washington office, Badham acknowledged that he has been too aloof at times.

“I’m not a public person,” he said. “I grew up in elementary school and high school being the class clown. . . . I don’t think it’s because I’m taking myself much more seriously (now), nor do I think it’s because I’m a snob. But I find myself . . . as one who is not a glad-hander.”

Big Improvement

State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R--Newport Beach) said she has noticed a big improvement in Badham’s efforts to communicate with district officials since last year’s offshore oil controversy. She attributed the change to Badham’s hiring of William Schreiber as his new district office manager. Schreiber is a former journalist and college public information officer.

Since the oil drilling controversy flared up last summer, for example, Badham has had several meetings with constituents on the issue and has lobbied both Gov. George Deukmejian and the Reagan Administration for a renewed ban on drilling in previously protected coastal waters.

To date, Badham’s political survival has been strongly linked to his conservatism and voters in his district who, by and large, want to be left alone.

Conservative Record

“He has one of the most conservative voting records in Congress,” said county GOP Central Committee Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes. “That sits very well with the party and with his constituents, who are among the most conservative voters in what is the most conservative county in the United States.”

Badham’s conservative ratings from political groups such as the American Conservative Union and the Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress have been measured at between 70% and 95% in recent years. Conversely, he has received scores of 0% to 10% from organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters and the AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education (COPE). The ratings are based on a lawmaker’s voting record.

Still, criticisms of Badham’s travel, his relatively low (85%) attendance record in the House and his late support on issues such as the Santa Ana River flood-control project, have built to a crescendo, even among supporters.

Cornered by disgruntled leaders of the Lincoln Club last year about his absenteeism and globe-trotting, Badham said he is often asked by the White House to travel or perform errands, and that he inspects military projects on secret trips that he can’t even tell his wife about.

White House officials said they asked Badham to go on a few trips during President Reagan’s first term, but only because Reagan was building his political relationship with the Armed Services Committee at that time.

Badham and his supporters also defend his far-flung travel by pointing out that he returns money to the U.S. Treasury regularly by not spending as much as permitted for office expenses, including staff salaries.

Others have criticized Badham’s legislative output. The bills he has authored, detractors said, do not reveal a serious attitude about the job.

Authored Three Bills

In the 1982-84 period, for example, Badham personally authored three bills that aided three individuals who were having immigration or business problems. He also authored legislation that allowed foreign-built hovercraft to operate in Alaskan coastal waters and resolutions that designated National Scuba Week and National Disabled Veterans Week. And he wrote legislation ending mandatory, bilingual ballots and defining all languages other than English as “foreign.”

On the other hand, Badham also introduced amendments to committee bills, something which he and other congressmen do frequently but almost anonymously. For example, Badham’s amendments to appropriations bills have increased funding for military housing.

‘Mostly Silent’

Taken as a whole, however, Badham’s legislative output led a Fluor Corp. executive to remark: “It just seems that with his district, which is so safe for him politically, and with its demographics and business concentration, he ought to be doing a lot more with it than he has. He could be a real spokesman for the party or for conservative causes, but he’s mostly silent.”

Badham said he introduces no less legislation than most Republicans, who philosophically don’t believe in proposing a lot of new laws, and who are hamstrung in any case by Democratic control of the House. He added that most House members’ individual positions on issues eventually get swallowed up by committee legislation, which emerges with the names of Democratic chairmen and ranking GOP members as authors.

Moreover, Badham and several city officials who support him cited several legislative achievements during his career.

They include Badham’s efforts, as an assemblyman, to quash controversial plans for a coastal freeway between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. Supporters said he has also authored legislation creating wildlife sanctuaries along the coast, secured funds for projects protecting coastal residents against beach erosion, helped to negotiate agreements for extending public street access through the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro and obtained funds for wildlife protection, flood control and silt removal involving Upper Newport Bay.

Chief Priority

Badham acknowledged that his chief priority in congress has been the Armed Services Committee. Rep. James Courter (R-N.J.), a member of the committee, described him as a leading opponent of military reforms supported by moderate GOP members.

“There’s certainly a reputation for him as a defender of military contractors,” Courter said.

Badham, for example, strongly opposed rules restricting the ability of Pentagon employees who deal with defense contractors to quit for better jobs with the same firms. At a time when the rules were debated, Ford Aerospace hired five Pentagon procurement officials. Badham and company officials say Badham was not involved with the job transfers.

Courter says Badham is the panel’s sharpest critic of procurement reform, which involves efforts to prevent contract fraud and cost overruns.

“He’s been among the leading opponents on the committee of military procurement reform efforts, and that has led to more frequent characterizations of him as a contractors’ congressman, perhaps unfairly,” Courter said. “He has been an effective legislator, a good debater in committee on procurement issues. . . . He’s very thorough.”

New Weapons Systems

Badham admits he cannot recall ever voting against a major new weapons system. But he cautioned that most have been far along in the development or production “stream” by the time he has taken a position on them--or flown in them.

A trained pilot, Badham said he was not allowed to fly for the Navy during the Korean War because there was a ban on taking applications from married men. However, he has personally flown aircraft ranging from the CH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to the B-1 bomber, and has also driven and fired the M-1 and M-60 tanks.

Although he has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and speech honorariums from defense contractors, Badham said he doesn’t try to make deals with the Pentagon for his benefactors.

He added that his political involvement with military affairs began when three retired generals in his district, including county Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, urged him to seek membership on the Armed Services Committee at the time of his election in 1976.

Since then, Badham has relied on a loose-knit group of about 100 people spread out around the district for political and financial support at election time.

Badham Boosters

Longtime members of the group, organized into a political action committee called Badham’s Boosters, include Jack Hochadel of the Willard Co., a boat builder, and Glen Stillwell, a retired aircraft company executive.

Hochadel said: “My business is in industry. We do a lot of Fiberglas, and we do a lot of government contracts. He has been a help to us. I find him extremely knowledgeable about defense contracts and defense affairs. He’s got a good handle on them, and certainly he’s very active on the Armed Services Committee. From what I hear, he’s doing a great job there.”

Hochadel added that he likes Badham because “he doesn’t kowtow to special-interest groups.”

Stillwell said he is attracted to Badham because of his voting record and conservative philosophy. Criticism of Badham is “all rhetoric,” he said.

Unfair News Coverage

Hochadel and Stillwell both complained that Badham has been the victim of unfair, negative news coverage in connection with his foreign travel and campaign expenditures.

“I don’t see how he’s any different than most congressmen,” Hochadel said.

Badham’s 64% share of the votes cast in the 1984 election was his worst performance since he first took the congressional seat a decade ago, when he took 59%. Facing a well-funded Democratic opponent, he ran 11 points behind President Reagan in the district, in a year when almost all other GOP House incumbents matched or surpassed the President’s percentage.

“I’m not embarrassed by it all,” Badham said. “I still won by 30 points (64% to 34%). So I have to laugh. . . . I know a lot of candidates who never even approach that kind of margin.”

REP. ROBERT E. BADHAM

Age: 56

Family: Married to Anne Carroll; five children from previous marriage.

Time in Congress: 1976 to present

Orange County office: 180 Newport Center Drive, Suite 240, Newport Beach, Calif. 92660.

(714) 644-4040.

40TH DISTIRCT AT A GLANCE Demographic Profile

Population 525,935 Republicans 57.6% Democrats 31.3 Declined to state and small parties 11.1 Household income (mean) $29,003 Households with income above $50,000/year 23,134 Households below poverty level 5,282 Asians/Pacific Islanders 5% Spanish origin 8% Blacks 1% Whites 90% Others 1% Foreign born 58,730 Median age 31 Primary industry Durable Mfg. Primary occupation Clerical Craft/Repair Assemblers Government employment 33,937 Federal contracts (in billions,1984) $1.3 Households receiving: Social Security 40,112 Public Assistance 7,157 Population under 24 who have completed 4 or more years of college 99,307 Single-parent households 11,929 Six or more in household 6,973 Live in rented housing 173,716 Live in owner-occupied housing 338,865

(Population totals more then 100% because official U.S. Census statisitics include some people in more than one category. For example, there is some overlap between blacks and people of Spanish origin.) Source: 1980 Census