GOP Targeted on the Enviornment

Congressional Democrats will air television advertisements in Republican Rep. Robert J Lagomarsino’s district through “Earth Day” weekend to portray Republicans as weak on protecting the environment.

One of the two cable ads in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties depicts workers cleaning up oil spilled from the Exxon tanker Valdez.

“When the Valdez went on the rocks, Republicans took a wait-and-see attitude. . .,” a narrator says. “But while the Republicans waited, the Democrats went to work demanding the federal government take over the cleanup.

“The Democrats have been coming to the rescue for years because we can’t afford to wait,” the narrator says.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which produced the ads, considers Lagomarsino vulnerable in November’s election because he barely survived a challenge in 1988 from state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara).

Environmental safeguards became a major election theme after Environmental Action, an advocacy group, placed Lagomarsino on its “dirty dozen” list of congressmen most likely to harm the environment.

Ken Carter, a top aide to Lagomarsino, said his boss is aware of the ad campaign but unconcerned about its impact. “The ads don’t point out Lagomarsino by name because he is strong on these issues,” Carter said.

“It’s obviously not a direct hit,” he said. “The ad talks about the Exxon Valdez and this is the congressman who has rerouted all of the tankers outside of the Channel Islands.”

Sam Rodriguez, campaign manager for Democratic challenger Anita Perez-Ferguson of Santa Barbara, agrees that the ads are not a direct attack on Lagomarsino. But he said they will reinforce the message that the environment is a Democratic issue.

“You can pick out only a few Republicans with a decent environmental records and Lagomarsino is not one of them,” he said.

Lagomarsino’s district is one of seven congressional districts nationwide targeted by the ad campaign. The ads will be aired Wednesday through Sunday.