Moriarty Issue Could Be Troublesome : Roos Seems to Rule Roost in District 46

Except for one nagging issue, Democratic Assemblyman Mike Roos appears to have a smooth sail ahead of him in his bid for reelection in the 46th District.

After all, his position as Assembly majority leader gives him high visibility against three relatively unknown opponents, including a Republican even local GOP activists say they have never met. Roos, an assemblyman since 1977, has a record of strong constituent service, a liberal voting record in a liberal area and a campaign war chest 100 times larger than that of all of his challengers combined.

What’s more, Democrats have a 2-1 voter registration lead in the district.

Roos speaks of the race in football terms. He may not be playing against powerhouses like USC or UCLA, he said, but “you still want to practice if you are playing Cal State Long Beach.” He stopped himself and laughingly pleaded with a reporter to use the name of some out-of-state college; he did not want to offend Long Beach alumni who might be his constituents.

However, a dark cloud has been hanging over Roos’ otherwise sunny political playing field for the past two years. It is not certain whether that cloud will disappear, burst into a storm or remain there well past Election Day. His opponents, to be sure, are hoping for a heavy rain--and soon.

Under Investigation

That cloud is the continuing investigation into alleged ties between Roos and W. Patrick Moriarty, the Orange County fireworks manufacturer who in January was sentenced to seven years in prison for political corruption.

Roos reportedly profited by $50,000 on an investment in a generally unprofitable Moriarty condominium project in 1982, just days after voting for a bill that would have helped Moriarty’s fireworks business. Former Moriarty aides have said that Moriarty also provided Roos with prostitutes.

Roos, 42, has not been charged with any crime and says that published reports of his financial dealings with Moriarty have been misleading. But this week, chief Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard E. Drooyan said the joint federal and Orange County investigation of Roos and other politicians is continuing. Asked whether Roos would be soon cleared or indicted, Drooyan declined comment, “given the proximity to the election.” So far, 12 people have been indicted in the probe, and nine of them have either pleaded guilty or been convicted of a variety of crimes.

Jeffrey Wright, the 29-year-old USC student and real estate agent who is the Republican candidate in the 46th District, said he does not expect to win the election unless Roos is indicted before Election Day. But Wright said he does not expect any action in the case soon.

Denied Wrongdoing

In a recent interview, Roos declined to comment on specifics of his alleged connections to Moriarty, saying those allegations are “well worn.” But he did give a reporter a letter he said he sent to The Times, where many of the allegations were first raised. In that letter, he denied taking any special action to help pass the fireworks bill and said that previous stories unfairly depicted him as not being candid about the case. He said he voluntarily handed over all his records to authorities.

Roos said the negative publicity caused him to consider dropping out of politics. But he decided to stay, he said, because he is in a position to help his constituents. “I am a dealer in hope,” he said.

The Assembly majority leader won the Democratic primary in June with 91% of the vote against political novice William Jones, who stressed the Moriarty affair in a low-key campaign.

More worrisome to Roos were plans by Peter Scott, a gay activist and businessman, to run against Roos in the primary because he thought Roos had become vulnerable and that the 46th District, with a large gay population in Silver Lake and Los Feliz, would support a homosexual candidate. But Scott came under intense pressure from the Democratic Establishment not to run and he didn’t. Suffering from AIDS, he recently has been hospitalized.

3,000 Signed Up

Because of the possible Scott challenge, Roos said, he sent out several mailings and conducted district polls. More recently, he said, his workers have registered about 3,000 new Democratic voters--no small task in a district with many new immigrants ineligible to vote.

The overwhelming Democratic majority in the district means that, “if Roos were caught dancing in the nude with children in the park, he would still get reelected,” said Marel Bates, a 42-year-old pension actuary who is the Libertarian candidate. He said his goal is not to win but to give more exposure to the Libertarian philosophy of getting the government out of economic and personal matters.

John O’Brien, the Peace and Freedom Party candidate, said he is running because parts of the district, especially East Hollywood, are decaying and badly need more subsidized housing, more jobs and better social services. O’Brien, 37, described himself as a gay activist and an office manager for a private music school.

Wright, the Republican, said he is state chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative organization on college campuses. He said he entered the race at the request of Assembly Minority Leader Pat Nolan of Glendale.

Unknown to Party Leaders

Both Harold Collins and Tim Kelly, respectively the chairman and vice chairman of the Republican Party in the 46th District, said they have never met Wright. Collins and Kelly said they had hoped that their candidate would be Anthony Trias, a former member of the Los Angeles School Board. Trias switched last year from the Democratic Party but not in time to get his name printed on the Republican primary ballot. Trias tried a write-in campaign but lost badly to Wright in June.

Kelly said that even Trias would have trouble against Roos. “Most constituents are quite pleased with Roos,” Kelly said.

Wright said of the Moriarty case: “I was hoping that some of the damage would help me with my fund-raising, but apparently it hasn’t.” He said he has raised about $6,000, although state officials said that Wright has failed to file the required campaign contributions statement due on Oct. 6. Bates and O’Brien both declared raising less than $500.

In contrast, Roos and his support committees report having a total of about $338,600 on hand as of Sept. 30, after having already spent more than $300,000 this year on the campaign and in donations to other Democrats.

Gifts to Candidates

Among Roos’ reported gifts were $11,000 to Louis Papan, the Daly City Democrat running for reelection in the 19th Assembly District; $5,000 to Ed Waters, the Democratic candidate in the 54th Assembly District, and $60,000 to a general fund for Democrats. He also reported a loan of $40,000 to Assemblyman Richard Polanco, running for reelection in the 55th District.

“One of the ways in which you become effective is to help others,” Roos said. “I think most people understand that.”

Roos said that the Legislature’s “crowning achievement” this term was passage of a bill forcing the sale of state investments in firms doing business in South Africa.

Wright said such legislation should be left for the President and Congress to consider. But he said he would support divestiture in South Africa only if similar measures were taken against all the other nations which have as bad or worse records of human rights violation and political representation. That would mean, he said, two-thirds of the world.

O’Brien supports divestiture. Bates opposes it, saying it would hurt South African blacks.

Supports Rose Bird

Roos and O’Brien support the retention of state Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. Wright and Bates oppose Bird.

Roos and Wright find themselves in surprising agreement on the issue of building a state prison near East Los Angeles. At variance with many other Democratic leaders, Roos said the proposed prison would improve what is essentially an empty property and produce many jobs. O’Brien opposes the prison, saying money would be better spent on providing jobs and counseling to young people. Bates is against it, he said, because prisons should be built and operated by private enterprise.

Of the four candidates, only Wright supports Proposition 63, the ballot initiative that would make English the state’s official language. He said the proliferation of Chinese signs around Monterey Park caused a flight of English-speaking, middle-class people. As a result, he said, parts of Monterey Park have “gotten worse and worse and worse.”

Wright’s photo does not accompany this article because he did not at first respond to many telephone messages attempting to arrange a photo session. A week later, he did call back but then did not show up for the photo appointment because, he said, he was ill. He said he would have his own photo delivered to The Times, but one was not. The Times offered to pick up that photo but he said he did not want to reveal his address. Other repeated phone messages to what he said was his office in San Marino and to a campaign manager in Los Angeles went unanswered.

RACE AT A GLANCE

Party Registration:

Total 71,655

Democrats 42,070

(58.7%)

Republicans 20,245

(28.2%)

Other 1,859 (2.6%)

Decline to state 7,481 (10.5%) Communities: Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire. Incumbent: Mike Roos, 42, Democrat. Challengers: Jeffrey Wright, 29, Republican, USC student and real estate agent.

Marel Bates, 42, Libertarian, pension actuary.

John O’Brien, 37, Peace and Freedom, gay activist and office manager.