California Elections : Maverick Worries Other Democrats : Party’s Regulars Seek to Discredit Margolis in 21st-District Primary

In the crowded race for the Democratic nomination for the open 21st Congressional District seat, local party activists are once more worried that political oddball George H. Margolis will come up the winner--again.

In the past, Democratic Party activists have refused to support Margolis’ many candidacies because they believe he has lied about his educational, professional and military background.

Despite being shunned by local party leaders, Margolis won the Democratic primary in this heavily Republican district in 1982 and nearly won it again in 1984.

This year, party leaders of the Conejo Valley and Simi Valley Democratic clubs have formed The Truth About George Margolis Committee to look into his background and to determine whether he has broken any election laws in the campaign for this year’s June 3 primary.

“We are particularly upset that . . . he has not been found out by the voters after all these years,” said Donna Schoenkopf, the Conejo Valley club’s president.

She called it “scary” to think that, “out of a field of marvelous candidates, we could end up with George Margolis as our nominee.”

Background Questioned

Margolis, 55, has boasted in his campaign literature that he is a retired Air Force colonel and a Purple Heart recipient, attended USC and Pennsylvania State University and held an administrative job with the Department of Commerce. None of these claims is supported by college, Air Force or other officials, except that a Commerce Department official said Margolis had a five-month, clerical job during the 1980 Census.

Margolis, who earns his living as a process server in Simi Valley, dismisses the questions raised about his credentials, just as he has in past campaigns.

He contends that the allegations against him are the malicious invention of “extreme left-wing radicals” who belong to Democratic clubs in Ventura County, where he has run in various elections since 1966.

“If they want to bring all that stuff up again, fine. I’ll go to court with anyone who brings it up,” said Margolis, who will not cooperate in attempts to substantiate his claims.

Margolis, who drives an old, powder-blue Chevrolet Malibu with a crudely painted red-white-and-blue campaign sign on its roof, recently showed a reporter what he said was a military identification card, but he would not permit a close examination of it.

Four years ago, when Margolis won his first campaign victory and became the Democratic standard-bearer against incumbent Rep. Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge), The Times investigated his claims and was not able to substantiate any of them.

Air Force officials said they had no record of Margolis’ military service. Nor did officials at USC and Penn State have any record of his attendance.

Privacy Laws Cited

Margolis responded that privacy laws prevent the military and the universities from confirming his claims.

What Margolis did not list in his campaign literature, however, are his couple of brushes with the law.

In 1974, Margolis was convicted of improperly caring for animals after 37 dogs were found unattended at his Simi Valley home. Workers had to wear gas masks to rescue the dogs from the John and Robert Kennedy Memorial Animal Shelter because of the powerful stench, according to to court depositions. Margolis also was convicted of petty theft in a 1959 case involving a trailer.

Some local Democratic officials worry that giving Margolis any exposure, even negative, will only increase his name identification and, therefore, his election chances.

“I hate to mention his name,” said Ed Burke, past chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee, who tried to publicize Margolis’ past before the 1982 election. This time, he said, “I’ve spent my time promoting good candidates rather than educating a lot of people about George.”

Some observers believe Margolis’ chances of winning the primary this year are better than ever. His years of running for office have rendered his name--if not his background--familiar to voters, some of whom apparently have confused him with Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles). And his five largely unknown opponents could splinter the vote.

But the conservative, affluent district, which includes the West San Fernando Valley and the eastern part of Ventura County as well as Santa Catalina Island, is virtually certain to land once again in the Republican column. Drawn during the last reapportionment to guarantee a safe seat for its GOP incumbent, the district has a Republican registration of 47%, whereas Democrats make up just 42% of the voters. Fiedler, who gave up the seat this year to run for the Senate, won reelection last time around with more than 74% of the ballots cast.

Central Committee Seat

Local Democratic leaders feel that their only chance at capturing the seat lies in getting a strong candidate for the November ballot. They also do not want Margolis to have a seat on the County Central Committee, a policy-making leadership post that includes all those who win Democratic primaries.

The five other Democratic contenders are an eclectic group of mostly political neophytes, whose occupations range from music teacher to solar developer to attorney on a television show.

Gilbert R. Saldana

Saldana, the 27-year-old vice mayor of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, attracted national attention several years ago when he became one of the youngest persons ever elected mayor in the country. Insiders generally give Saldana, the only contender to hold elected office, the best shot at beating Margolis.

Saldana has attracted most of the available political endorsements, including those from the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley and other local Democratic organizations, numerous labor unions, Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman, local officials in Ventura County, former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown and several Latino lawmakers in the state. Expecting to raise $50,000, he is the only Democrat who will not be paying for his campaign largely out of his own pocket.

Having saved most of his money for the final three weeks of the campaign, he said he will be sending out mailers and walking precincts along with his 50 or so volunteers.

Saldana’s biggest obstacle is his lack of ties to the rest of the district.

Stephen H. Dart

A former prosecutor from Lansing, Mich., who appears regularly in the role of an attorney on “Divorce Court,” Dart claims he enjoys the highest visibility of any Democratic candidate because of his regular appearances on the television show. He also will be making an appearance as the assailant of Charlton Heston on the nighttime soap opera “The Colbys” shortly before the election.

Dart, 33, stopped practicing law when he moved to California four years ago. He is the Valley’s representative on the Los Angeles Community Action Board, which appropriates block-grant money for poverty programs. Dart said his priorities would be improving education, providing the elderly in particular with quality health care and stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Robert A. (Bob) Felburg

Felburg, from Westlake Village, an inventor and what he calls a “solar real estate developer,” is just completing what he bills as the world’s only shopping center to be cooled and heated with solar energy. The eight-acre project has brought him financial and legal problems after he redesigned it to include solar power. But, at a ceremony last year in Washington, Energy Secretary John F. Herrington recognized Felburg’s efforts in expanding the uses of solar power.

Over the years, Felburg, 65, has donated space in his other office buildings to groups supporting a nuclear freeze and other liberal causes. He has been an active Democrat in Ventura County politics.

Anthony T. Irek

Irek is a piano and composition teacher who says he will fast during the 10 days before the primary to show voters he is serious about sacrificing for them.

Having grown up in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, Irek, 54, said he is running for Congress out of deep gratitude and love for his adopted country. Before filing his candidacy papers this year, he bought 86 state lottery tickets, representing the 1986 election, and another 20 tickets for the years he has lived in the United States. He won $50,000, which he says he intends to spend on his campaign if he wins the primary.

Having cut back on his teaching to campaign, Irek contends that the Democratic clubs prematurely endorsed Saldana before they looked at other candidates.

Don L. Parker

Parker, the former head of the Directors Guild of America, is now self-employed as a movie-completion guarantor. Parker, 63, who runs his two-man movie business from a Century City office, believes his previous experience with the Directors Guild qualifies him for a congressional seat. He considers himself liberal on social issues--he is pro-choice on abortion and a supporter of the proposed equal rights amendment--and moderate on defense and foreign-affairs issues. He said his priority as a congressman would be to pursue peace with the Soviet Union through effective negotiations.