21st-District Candidate : Panel of Truth Fails to Unlock Margolis’ Past

A dozen people seated around a long conference table tried Wednesday to pry some answers out of George Margolis, a Democratic candidate in the 21st Congressional District whose background is as mysterious as his reasons for running for office.

But, at the end of the meeting, when one of the questioners lamented, “We are still in the dark . . . ,” Margolis had the last word.

“You’ll be in the dark for eternity,” he shot back.

The unusual inquisition, staged by his fellow Democrats at the Thousand Oaks Library, was prompted by Margolis’ claims about his education, military and professional background. Since Margolis began running for Congress in the 21st District six years ago, Democratic activists have suggested that his credentials are phony.

Considered a Front-Runner

Nonetheless, Margolis, a process server from Simi Valley, won the Democratic nomination in 1982 and lost by just 18 votes in the primary two years later. Margolis is once again considered a front-runner in a field of six candidates because his name is now familiar and because voters confuse him with Assemblyman Burt M. Margolin (D-Los Angeles).

So members of the Conejo Valley and Simi Valley Democratic clubs recently formed “The Truth About George Margolis Committee” to pressure the candidate into verifying his past or dropping the claims.

But the truth committee on Wednesday left disappointed.

For nearly an hour, Margolis dodged all questions posed by committee members, reporters and two of the other Democratic contenders--Stephen H. Dart and Anton Irek. He also brushed off a suggestion by the committee to switch to the Republican Party.

As usual, the perennial candidate said he could not provide proof about his background because it would endanger national security.

Margolis says he is a retired Air Force colonel, a Korean War veteran and a Purple Heart recipient. He insists that he attended USC and Pennsylvania State University. In the past, spokesmen with the Air Force and both universities have told The Times they have never heard of Margolis.

After refusing to provide the committee with his military serial number, Margolis briefly flashed a card in his wallet that he said proved that he was a Purple Heart recipient.

“You can’t run for office with a phony ID card,” he said. “You’d be sitting in a federal penitentiary.”

Candidate Warns Committee

Even though he was bombarded with questions, Margolis seemed to relish the attention and he played the part of a victim with dramatic flourish. Shaking his finger at committee members, Margolis warned that Gen. William C. Westmoreland’s attorneys had expressed interest in representing him free if he decides to sue the truth committee. True to form, though, Margolis would not reveal the names of the attorneys.

Instead he said, “The next time you’ll hear from me is in a courtroom.”