Optimism Is Candidate’s Strong Suit

There was a tiny U.S. flag planted in the corner of the trimmed lawn, a signpost for the bit of Americana played out on a mid-morning here in the newly minted town of North Hills.

And a little after 10 a.m., standing in the driveway of the tract home he shares with his parents and grandmother, 29-year-old Howard Cohen, kicked off his campaign to win the 38th State Assembly District.

“I am going to win,” Cohen said confidently at the news conference Thursday. He faces one Democratic opponent in the June primary.

He spoke for about 15 minutes, standing in his driveway, with a card table for a lectern and with his mom and dad, his cousin and his 94-year-old grandmother outnumbering the press 4 to 1.

Despite these humble beginnings, Cohen spoke with the sort of optimism heard among fans at baseball’s opening day. That, despite the odds, there is still a chance to win--a sentiment echoed by hundreds of low-budget, long-shot candidates in races across the country.

“I don’t care how much money he spends,” Cohen said of his Democratic opponent, James Blatt, a well-known and successful criminal defense attorney. Blatt has reported raising almost $10,000 in trying to capture the seat, which serves the northwest San Fernando Valley and parts north.

The incumbent, Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills), who will seek reelection in November, had raised about $50,000 by the third week in March--a good portion of it from faceless political groups created by oil, insurance, finance, medical and other business interests to bankroll incumbents.

So far, Cohen has reported raising a little more than $3,000.

“I’m going to raise $50,000,” Cohen said.

Cohen said he supports the death penalty and abortion rights and favors a tax increase for the very rich--those in the top 1% of income levels--as well as tax cuts for the middle class.

But to attract the kind of support--and money--he needs to complete those plans, Cohen admitted that he must first be able to attract more than the handful who gathered in his driveway Thursday. His remarks were occasionally drowned out by planes landing at nearby Van Nuys Airport. But when he concluded his remarks, there was an uncomfortable silence, ended by a relative’s question.

“We had this trouble with the North Hills press conference,” he said, referring to an event staged last year.

Cohen was active in the fight to change his neighborhood’s name from Sepulveda to North Hills. That short-lived battle could not have come at a better time for Cohen, who has spent much of the time since completing school in 1986 looking for steady work.

And with the name change complete, Cohen said, “I am a full-time campaigner now.”

Despite a bachelor’s of science degree in science and public affairs, and a master’s degree in public administration, both from USC, Cohen said he has had trouble earning a living with the consulting business he started 14 months ago. Before that, there were interviews with political consultants who liked him but had no openings.

“No one has to tell me there is a depression. I know about it first-hand,” Cohen said. He still has the 1968 Camaro he bought 14 years ago with his bar mitzvah money.

Cohen also knows a bit about public speaking. He opened with a joke--”I’ve never bounced a check in my life”--and ended with a flourish, by pouring hot water into a special B-2 Stealth bomber mug, with a black drawing of the aircraft on one side.

After a couple of seconds, the jet disappeared.

“That ladies and gentlemen, is my opponent. Visible during the campaign and invisible in office,” Cohen said.

And when it was over, Cohen’s mother worried about what to do with all the leftover doughnuts. “We’re going to donate them to charity,” her son said.