Candidates File for Party Primaries : Congressional Races Take Shape

Saying that America can no longer tolerate hunger, homelessness and inadequate medical care, Thousand Oaks attorney Donald E. Stevens on Friday became the likely Democratic nominee for the seat held by 21st Congressional District Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

At the same time, actor Gerald C. (Brodie) Broderson of Hollywood became the probable Republican opponent of 26th Congressional District Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City).

Stevens and Broderson were the only candidates who registered for the June 7 primary for those positions from their respective parties. Friday was the filing deadline for inclusion on primary ballots.

Berman, seeking a fourth term in the overwhelmingly Democratic district, divided between the East San Fernando Valley and the Westside, will be unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Stevens and Broderson face the same long odds on opposite sides: the advantages of voter registration, fund raising and incumbency generally make the GOP nominee in the 21st District and the Democratic standard-bearer in the 26th shoo-ins in the general election.

Stevens has never sought public office; Broderson lost a Republican primary in the 45th Assembly District in 1986. Each will represent his party in the November general election, unless a write-in candidate should garner more support in the primaries.

Meanwhile, as expected, Gallegly and Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Tarzana) will face potentially well-financed primary opponents. Wealthy South Korean-born developer Sang R. Korman of Newberry Park registered to run against Gallegly and Westside activist Val Marmillion of West Hollywood registered against Beilenson. Political neophyte David Desko, 27, of Canoga Park is also a candidate in the 21st District GOP primary.

Outlines of Contest

The outlines of these congressional contests, as well as state Senate and Assembly races in the San Fernando Valley area, took shape as Friday’s filing deadline for the primaries passed.

Most of those who filed had previously announced their intentions.

At the state level, the only primary contest will be in the 43rd Assembly District, where Beverly Hills attorney Tom Franklin faces Edward Brown of Sherman Oaks. Franklin, 29, is a conservative GOP activist who appears to have considerable party support. Brown could not be reached for comment Friday.

Incumbent Terry B. Friedman (D-Tarzana), 38, a liberal attorney, is heavily favored to win reelection in the solidly Democratic district. Marjery Hinds of Los Angeles is running as a Peace and Freedom candidate and Robert Townsend Leet as a Libertarian candidate in the district.

Stevens, 56, who lives in Westlake Village, said he intends to mount a shoestring campaign with a volunteer army in a sprawling district that includes eastern Ventura County, part of the north and west San Fernando Valley, Fillmore, Ojai and Santa Catalina Island. He said Friday he dropped his initial plans to refuse all campaign contributions.

“Our nation has enormous problems, and I cannot sit idly by and say nothing about them,” Stevens said. One contrast between him and Gallegly is his opposition to military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras; Gallegly supports such aid.

Contra Support

Korman, meanwhile, announced Friday that he had mailed a check for $250 to the Nicaraguan Resistance-USA, a group established to provide financial support to the Contras.

“I know firsthand what communism is all about,” Korman said in a news release, alluding to the communist North Korean regime. “I don’t want the people of Nicaragua to have to live their lives under the tyranny of a Marxist-Leninist regime.”

Broderson, 58, Berman’s likely opponent, served as a student trustee of the Los Angeles Community College District several years ago. He returned to Valley College in 1982 at age 54 and won acclaim by becoming the oldest player ever on the college’s football team. He was a second-string kicker.

A self-styled political moderate, Broderson won 6,365 votes in the GOP Assembly primary in the district represented by Berman ally Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles) in 1986.

The liberal Berman, one of Los Angeles’ most powerful politicians, had a campaign treasury of $207,084 as of Dec. 31, according to his campaign committee report. He was reelected with 65% of the vote in 1986.

Broderson could not be reached for comment.