Lungren Takes Law Firm Job in Sacramento

Daniel E. Lungren, the Republican congressman who was Gov. George Deukmejian’s unsuccessful first choice for state treasurer, has joined the law firm of Diepenbrock, Wulff, Plant & Hannegan.

The Sacramento firm said Saturday that it hired Lungren because he is “uniquely qualified to practice governmental and political law on local, state and national levels.”

In his bid to become treasurer, Lungren was approved by the Assembly but lost by one vote in the Senate last February after legislators and interest groups accused him of being too ideological for the spot. He decided during the treasurer’s job fight not to seek reelection to Congress, where he represented a district that includes Long Beach and parts of northwest Orange County. The decision in early March sparked a bitter GOP primary fight in the solidly Republican 42nd Congressional District.

Although Lungren endorsed Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder to succeed him, the June primary election was won by former White House speech writer Dana Rohrabacher, who went on to win the general election.

Lungren, who served five terms in Congress, entered politics early in his career, losing an Assembly race in 1976 at the age of 30. He had also worked as a staff member for California Sen. George Murphy and Tennessee Sen. Bill Brock.

Lungren was known in Washington for his conservatism and battles with the Democratic leadership. In 1985, he ended up in a shoving match with House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas), whom Lungren accused of trying to block a politically sensitive vote. But he was also acknowledged to be an articulate and pragmatic politician.

Some of Lungren’s stands caused him trouble at home. Long Beach officials, for example, were angry when he argued against spending $20 million for a new federal building in the city.

He also opposed paying reparations to Japanese-Americans who were interned during World War II.

His opposition to spending federal money for public works projects, low- and moderate-income housing and education programs led to criticism that he did not support minorities or the poor.

But he was lauded by many for his role in gaining passage of the amnesty section of the 1986 Immigration Reform Act.

United Press International contributed to this story.