LOCAL ELECTIONS / 25TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT : Perot Activist’s Challenge Changes Dynamics of Race

A Palmdale screenwriter and Ross Perot activist announced Tuesday that he will run as an independent in a new northern Los Angeles County congressional district, adding an unexpected element to a race that had been regarded as a cakewalk for the Republican nominee, former Santa Clarita Mayor Howard (Buck) McKeon.

Rick Pamplin, who qualified for the 25th Congressional District race after fellow volunteers gathered more than 12,000 voter signatures for him, apparently is the only Perot backer to win a spot on the November ballot in California this year.

His candidacy is expected to change the dynamics of the race in the heavily Republican district, where McKeon is widely regarded as the front-runner. The Democratic nominee is James Gilmartin, a Santa Clarita attorney.

Pamplin, who has directed low-budget action films and once wrote for a TV show called “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling,” said he plans to set up an 800 telephone line to help him raise funds from former Perot supporters nationwide.

“A victory here will send a message to Washington that the Perot movement lives and independents . . . can beat big, corrupt political machines,” he said.

A first-time candidate, Pamplin, 38, characterized himself as “extremely conservative” on fiscal matters but moderate on social issues such as legalized abortion and gay rights, which he supports. He said he has been registered as both a Republican and a Democrat in the past but now is an independent who subscribes to Perot’s political ideas.

He described himself as a “reformist candidate” and called for a ban on campaign contributions by special interest political action committees. He pledged to accept no PAC funds and donations of only $100 or less from individuals.

Pamplin said he expects to draw support from GOP women disaffected by McKeon’s anti-abortion position. He also criticized McKeon for “hypocrisy” for accepting contributions from a gay GOP group and later publicly condemning homosexuals. McKeon has said he was unaware of the purpose of the group, which gave him $350.

Pamplin said he hopes to also attract votes from past supporters of state Assemblyman Phil Wyman (R-Tehachapi) and former Rep. John Rousselot, both conservatives who were defeated by McKeon during a bitter GOP primary battle in June.

He said he expects to raise $200,000 for the Nov. 3 election, but has garnered only $3,000 to $5,000 so far. He said he has not yet begun any organized fund raising, noting that he only qualified for the ballot last month.

Although he acknowledged that the district is heavily Republican, Pamplin said he can win a plurality if he gains support from the 23,000 voters unaffiliated with either major party, while drawing substantial numbers of votes away from the GOP and Democratic nominees.

McKeon was traveling with his son to Utah and was unavailable for comment Tuesday. His campaign manager, Armando Azarloza, acknowledged that Pamplin is “a factor” in the race but scoffed at his claim that Wyman and Rousselot partisans will swing behind him.

Conservative Republicans, Azarloza said, are unlikely to approve of Pamplin’s support of abortion and gay rights. He also noted Pamplin’s recent participation in a protest of a new Lancaster law restricting sales of sex-oriented materials, saying that, too, will alienate conservative voters.

“If he thinks he’s going to get the Republican hard right, he better check his campaign manual,” said Azarloza.

GOP political observers familiar with the race said Pamplin faces an uphill battle against McKeon, but disagreed on his chances.

Frank Visco, a former GOP state party chairman who lives in the district and has endorsed McKeon, said that despite Pamplin’s entry, the campaign is still McKeon’s to lose.

But Paul Clarke, a political consultant in Northridge, said that “any time an independent qualifies for the ballot, it shows a certain level of dissatisfaction with what you’ve already got on the ballot.”