The Lure of Congress and Joy Picus

Nothing stirs a politician’s juices more than the prospect of upward career mobility.

Romance performs the same function for some people. A fine meal, a concert, shopping or seeing their NFL team win on Sunday afternoon does it for others.

But for the obsessive souls in the business of running for public office, it’s the opportunity to move up to a bigger, more powerful job. That’s when eyes brighten, nerve endings come alive and blood courses through the veins.

That explains the bright-eyed enthusiasm of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus when she came up to me in the council chambers Wednesday morning. In her hand was a dog-eared map of a new congressional district in the San Fernando Valley.

The map was the result of the much-publicized failure of the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Pete Wilson to agree on new boundaries for congressional and legislative districts. Their deadlock had thrown the issue to the state Supreme Court. The court appointed a panel of retired judges and experts to draw new district lines. Next month, the high court justices will decide whether to approve them.

Picus asked if I’d seen the map. No, I replied. She handed it to me. The paper was crinkled, and dirty with the grime and sweat of many hands. Obviously, I was not the first person to have inspected this chart that points the way to Picus’ political treasure--a job as congresswoman from the proposed 24th Congressional District.

As the map showed, her City Council constituency is in the heart of the new district.

But others have the same map and it’s not certain that Picus, or any other Democrat, will reach the prize.

For the 24th is a perfect example of how the plan proposed to the Supreme Court could help the Republicans eventually gain control of the state’s congressional delegation, as well as the state Senate and the Assembly.

In the past decade, empty California farmlands have turned into suburbia, with tract homes filled with predominantly white middle-class families. Upward rising, fearful of crime, mistrustful of social change, these suburbanites have created a pool of Republican support, providing the margins that have given California to the GOP in every recent presidential and gubernatorial election.

The new district lines merely reflect that change.

In creating the 24th District, the Supreme Court advisory panel followed the suburban population growth along the Ventura Freeway from the West San Fernando Valley into Ventura County, around Thousand Oaks.

Like the other new suburbs, this is fertile ground for the Republicans. Registration is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. President Bush carried the area included in the district with around 54% of the vote. Wilson beat Diane Feinstein there, receiving about 51%.

These huge obstacles were not shown on the tattered map that Picus held.

Neither were some more immediate hurdles.

First, there’s Democratic Rep. Tony Beilenson.

The Supreme Court experts reduced the number of districts with strong Democratic majorities. That’s sent Democrats fighting for spots in the remaining favorable districts. Beilenson now represents the West Valley portions of the proposed 24th. But Beilenson is considering running in another new district, this one on the Westside and with a constituency much more in tune with the congressman’s liberal politics.

Another liberal, however, is in line ahead of him. Powerful Democrat Henry Waxman has already staked a claim to the Westside seat and he’d be hard for Beilenson to beat. Nevertheless, Beilenson told me, “My current inclination and strong leaning is to run in the Westside district.”

If he does, that still doesn’t clear the field for Picus. One of her council colleagues, Democrat Zev Yaroslavsky, is considering the race. So is Burt Margolin, the Westside Democratic assemblyman who is a member of Waxman’s political organization.

Neither of these obstacles--a primary fight, a Republican-leaning electorate--seemed to be bothering Picus when we talked Wednesday.

In her mind, the race had started and she was leading the pack. I listened as she outlined her march to inevitable victory: Her present council district contains 40% of the population of the new congressional district. Her council constituents love her. They’ll all vote for her for Congress.

The district was made for her. “The bus came by, “ she said. “I was standing there with the right change and I jumped aboard.”

Yes, but if Picus were a regular customer of the RTD, she’d know that climbing aboard the bus doesn’t guarantee you’ll reach your destination.