23rd District Democrat Faces Ambitious Primary Challenge

Even though he has been in Congress 12 years and in public office since 1963, Anthony C. Beilenson has attracted serious election opponents in recent years as routinely as most incumbents accumulate special-interest campaign contributions.

In fact, one reason Beilenson may appear vulnerable to opponents is that he is among only 11 House members who do not accept money from single-interest political action committees--a practice he says corrupts the legislative process--and he refuses to raise large sums to deter challengers. Another is that he will take unpopular positions--potentially antagonizing such potent groups as veterans, the elderly and motorists--and even write newspaper articles touting these stands.

“Sometimes I wonder about myself, myself,” Beilenson said recently.

Thus, the Tarzana Democrat is accustomed to fending off well-financed GOP opponents in his affluent, moderately Democratic 23rd District, which extends from the Westside to the West San Fernando Valley.

This year, however, his most serious test appears to be from a primary opponent to the left, Val Marmillion, a liberal West Hollywood businessman and former congressional aide who is active in the Westside arts and environmental communities.

‘People Deserve Better’

“It is time to stop accepting mediocrity from our political leaders,” Marmillion tells voters. “Our job here is to convince people they deserve better.”

Marmillion, 37, is seeking to become the first openly homosexual candidate to be elected to Congress as a freshman. Two members, Reps. Barney Frank and Gerry E. Studds, both Massachusetts Democrats, did not discuss their homosexuality publicly until after they were in office.

“You’re always concerned,” Beilenson, 55, says of the challenge. “Especially if a person has the potential to raise a decent amount of money, which he seems to be able to do.”

Marmillion, who has hired five paid staffers, said last week he has garnered more than $30,000 toward an expected campaign treasury of $200,000 to $250,000. Beilenson has about $25,000 on hand and says he will raise only what he needs to respond to Marmillion.

Despite his low-budget campaigns, Beilenson is a proven vote-getter. The professorial-sounding, Harvard-educated attorney has represented at least part of the district as a state and federal lawmaker since John F. Kennedy was in the White House and has lost only one election--when he sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1968. He trounced Republican attorney George Woolverton in 1986 by a 2-1 margin even though he was outspent.

“We will continue to highlight the fact he is an unusually independent voice in Congress,” said Craig Miller, Beilenson’s campaign consultant. “He refuses to give political action committees and special interests a foothold in his district. That’s one of the reasons he wins overwhelmingly.”

Incumbency is another. A record 98% of all congressional incumbents won reelection in 1986, most overwhelmingly. Only two incumbent members of Congress have lost primaries in California in the past decade, and both were discredited by scandals.

The sole Republican on the 23rd District ballot is financial consultant Jim Salomon, 32, of Beverly Hills, whose fall campaign is not expected to be as well-funded or visible as Woolverton’s was.

The district’s 297,650 registered voters are 53% Democratic and 37% Republican; the other 10% are independent or affiliated with minor parties.

Marmillion, whose soft Southern drawl reflects his Louisiana heritage, faces prodigious obstacles. A relative unknown, he must forge an identity among 157,918 registered Democrats in a sprawling district that stretches from West Hollywood to Malibu to Canoga Park.

He echoes the liberal Beilenson on many issues, opposing both military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras and President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, and supporting a woman’s right to an abortion.

‘Issue Is Leadership’

But Marmillion maintains that Beilenson’s voice, however independent, is barely heard in his district.

“The big umbrella issue in this campaign is leadership,” Marmillion said during an interview in his Westwood campaign headquarters. “What have we lost because of a lack of leadership? Do we have an active congressman in this district? When things happen, does he come home and try to negotiate change?”

Marmillion vows he would be more active locally and a more energetic force against the New Right nationally. He couples this pledge with criticism of controversial Beilenson positions, such as his 1984 vote against a Social Security cost-of-living increase that passed 417 to 4, and his proposal to raise the federal gasoline tax by 25 cents--which would hit lower-income and Valley commuters especially hard.

“He’s out of touch,” Marmillion said. “Social Security is a litmus test issue for seniors. It’s one of the basic rights issues.”

Beilenson regarded the 1984 Social Security vote as a meaningless election-year ploy by Reagan and a jittery Congress, legislative assistant Melissa Kuckro said. Under the law, cost-of-living increases are automatic if inflation exceeds 3%. The well-publicized 1984 measure guaranteed the increase if inflation was below 3%. However, since inflation was running above this threshold, senior citizens would have received higher benefits anyway, Kuckro said.

Support From Seniors Group

During his nearly 12 years in Congress, Beilenson has voted in favor of interests of the elderly 91% of the time, according to the National Council of Senior Citizens, a Washington-based advocacy group. He has the council’s continued support as “a demonstrated true friend” of seniors, political coordinator Gail Dratch said.

Beilenson says he backs the gasoline tax increase--an anathema to car-dependent Southern Californians--because it would raise $25 billion to reduce the federal budget deficit and cut America’s dependence on foreign oil by encouraging conservation.

An early critic of skyrocketing deficit spending, Beilenson also advocates a 0.5% tax on the sale of securities to raise $10 billion to $15 billion and a broad consumption tax, exempting food and clothing.

The normally soft-spoken Beilenson bristles at Marmillion’s assertion that he is not attentive to his district.

“That’s total nonsense,” Beilenson responded. “I come back frequently enough, and I spend all my time reaching out to people and in contact.”

Town meetings are Beilenson’s most visible local presence. He held nine such sessions throughout the district in 1987 and has had four in 1988, according to records supplied by his office. He made 10 trips to his district in 1987, records kept by the House clerk show. He says he also makes himself available at his constituent offices in Westwood and Tarzana, speaks to local groups and visits schools.

His major legislative accomplishment was a measure he wrote that created the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in 1978, and he subsequently has helped secure $80 million to buy parkland. He also obtained $10 million in federal funds for a recreational lake, a wildlife pond and landscaped parkland in the Sepulveda Basin in recent years.

Beilenson is a respected member of two important, if relatively low-profile, House committees. He sits on the powerful Rules Committee, which is the House traffic cop, deciding which bills reach the floor and the amount and range of debate permitted. He is also on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the CIA, the National Security Agency and other intelligence functions.

“I’ve never heard anybody question Tony Beilenson’s integrity or the reason he made a vote,” Rep. Robert Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) said in a view expressed by other House members. “He’s got a reputation of being a totally straight arrow.”

The impetus for Marmillion’s campaign can be seen in another of his priorities: increased money for research, treatment and education relating to AIDS, which has been especially devastating to homosexuals. This issue also points out the challenge he faces to differentiate himself from Beilenson.

Marmillion, who has developed national AIDS public education programs through his Westwood marketing and public affairs firm, Hunt/Marmillion/Associates, says he would spearhead support for a massive research effort akin to the crash program to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. He said he does not know how much this would cost.

“This district has one of the higher caseloads of AIDS in the country,” Marmillion said, and cited the need for leadership. Then, referring to Beilenson, he added: “Where is he?”

AIDS Legislation

Beilenson’s response is direct: His record in support of legislation to fight acquired immune deficiency syndrome is 100%.

“They could not ask any more of me,” he said of the homosexual community, which makes up an estimated 10% to 15% of the district’s Democratic voters. “We’ve done everything we’ve been able to do, and we’re more than willing to do more if there are other things to be done.”

The Human Rights Fund, a Washington-based gay rights advocacy group, confirms that Beilenson has voted for the three AIDS initiatives it backed in recent years and has consistently supported homosexual rights.

The fund, nonetheless, has endorsed Marmillion and contributed $5,000 to his campaign. He also is expected to receive the backing of the Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles, the city’s pre-eminent gay political group.

“Beilenson has been an excellent member of Congress in terms of the issues the Human Rights Fund is concerned about,” political director Eric Rosenthal said. “However, we think it’s very important that the gay and lesbian community support openly lesbian and gay candidates.”

‘I Happen to Be Gay’

Marmillion said he is hopeful that his homosexuality will not hurt him with mainstream Democrats. Some party activists privately suggest that it may be a handicap in the more conservative Valley communities.

“I happen to be gay, and I’m running for office,” Marmillion said. “I’m not running for office because I’m gay. . . .

“If you can’t tell the truth about something that affects your life that dramatically--basically, who you are--then how can you lead well? I think you can fudge on a lot of issues if you can fudge on that one.”

Marmillion knows what it takes to wage an uphill campaign. He returned to Louisiana to coordinate Democratic U.S. Sen. John Breaux’s upset victory in 1986. Breaux, a former representative, was one of three lawmakers Marmillion worked for during a 10-year stint on Capitol Hill in the ‘70s.

Win or lose June 7, Marmillion says, his effort to forge a progressive coalition to support candidates and address issues will continue.

“I’m dedicated to it for more than three months,” he said. “We definitely intend to make a mark on the district.”