ELECTIONS / 38TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT : Contest Between Braude, Horn a Study in Contrasts : Democrat: Braude is a liberal in a district where his party his party has the edge. Being Glenn Anderson’s stepson has paid off in campaign contributions.

Two weeks before the election, Evan Anderson Braude is getting ready to walk door to door in a quiet Long Beach neighborhood with neatly mowed lawns and shady streets.

He has spent long, exhausting days on the congressional campaign trail and jokes with a campaign worker that he has his “sincere” blue pen, “sincere” campaign button and has taken off his “insincere” sunglasses.

His kidding belies the seriousness of this campaign. The 38th Congressional District is expected to be one of the most competitive races in the state, and no one wants to leave anything to chance.

Braude is one of four candidates in the race. The others are Republican Steve Horn, Libertarian Blake Ashley and Peace and Freedom candidate Paul Burton.

Braude has a few advantages going into this race. He’s a Democrat in a district with about 30,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. He’s a Long Beach councilman with a liberal record respected by many community groups. And he’s the stepson of Rep. Glenn Anderson, whose retirement left the district open.

Braude, whose mother, Lee Anderson, is helping coordinate his campaign, is not shy about bringing up a family tie to a well-respected congressman, and it has already brought him thousands of dollars in contributions he otherwise might have had a difficult time garnering.

It also has left him open to charges that he is trying to ride his stepfather’s coattails. During a recent debate, in which Braude criticized his Republican opponent, deposed Cal State Long Beach President Steve Horn, Horn shot back: “Well, as long as we are getting down to the nitty-gritty, is there any job you’ve held that your father hasn’t got for you?”

Braude, 45, dismisses such comments, and says that he was denied at least one job because of the relationship. But, he said, “I have no shame whatsoever in making people aware I’m part of the Anderson family. He’s been my stepfather for 35 years. I’m proud of Glenn, and I wanted to have a relationship with him long before I ever ran for public office.

Braude faces a formidable foe in Horn, a moderate intellectual who holds appeal for the district’s more conservative Democrats, but Braude believes he offers something Horn cannot.

“As a city councilman for the last six years, I’ve spent far more time in the community actually solving problems,” Braude said. “I don’t see my opponent as the same. He’s been in an academic environment, reading and teaching. . . . The classroom is a wonderful place to learn and read, but being out there with the people is where the real issues come out.”

Horn scoffs at Braude’s contention, and depicts the younger man as a career politician who accepts money from political action committees--something Horn refuses to do.

Campaign finance statements filed with the Federal Elections Commission show that from July 1 to Sept. 30, Braude received $41,540 from PACs--about 50% of the total contributions. His largest contributors were the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which gave $5,000, and the National Education Assn. PAC, the Transportation Political Education League PAC, the American Trial Lawyers Assn. PAC and the Service Employees International Union PAC, each gave $5,000. Since Jan. 1, Braude has loaned his campaign $50,000.

Braude defends his decision to accept PAC money, saying the committees represent small donations from thousands of people. And his record, his said, proves he is not a career politician.

“I came to the district first as a legal assistance officer to the Naval Station (in 1973),” he said. “I’ve been here since on and off. I’ve had my law office here since 1983. I think Horn is just floundering to find some issues.”

Braude graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science and earned his law degree at Loyola University. His first work as a lawyer involved helping Navy employees and sailors with such matters as landlord-tenant disputes and wills. He later became a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles and was a founder of Bet Tzedek Legal Service, which offers free legal counseling to seniors and the poor throughout Los Angeles County. In 1977, he went to Washington where he worked as an attorney and legal adviser for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and in 1980 he opened a law practice in Long Beach specializing in administrative law.

In 1985, he moved to Long Beach and became an attorney for the now-defunct Mercury Savings & Loan. A year later he became a city councilman, defeating his opponent by 573 votes. He was reelected to a second term in 1990, this time beating his challenger by about 700 votes. In addition to his council position, he serves on the Southern California Rapid Transit District board of directors.

Braude has generally been praised for his role on the council. His affable manner, sense of humor and low-key, measured style have earned him a reputation as one the more approachable and responsive members of the board.

Throughout his term, Braude has been regarded as the most progressive of the nine members, fighting for the homeless, the poor, gays, the elderly and people of color.

Braude has lobbied for more affordable housing in his district, which runs from the glass towers of the downtown business area, north into some of the most crowded, poor and ethnically diverse portions of the city.

He helped draft an ordinance to allow landlords to evict drug users from apartment buildings, initiated an ordinance to ban semiautomatic weapon sales in Long Beach, and was responsible for restarting foot and bicycle police patrols downtown. Braude developed a fund to build a multi-service center that would offer showers, a laundry, hot meals and first aid to the homeless--a controversial proposal that was passed last week after five years delay.

He has lobbied to keep the Long Beach Naval Shipyard open and to expand the Port of Long Beach. He introduced an anti-discrimination ordinance to protect jobs and housing for AIDS patients and, two years later, an ordinance to protect gays and lesbians from job discrimination.

“We tried for years to get the council to pass an ordinance protecting gays and lesbians,” said Dave Newell, former president of LAMBDA, an organization representing homosexuals. “He not only supported it, but he took a leadership role, which tells me that he is willing to follow what’s right, not what’s popular.”

Braude is not without his critics. Even some of his greatest supporters say they wish he were more aggressive, and some members of the Latino community question his commitment to minorities.

“There are a lot of good things Evan has done, and he has the capability to become a good statesman,” said Gladys Gutierrez, the president of the Long Beach office of the League of United Latin American Citizens and a city parks and recreation commissioner. “I’ve seen him be extremely responsive, but sometimes he just needs a little more. I don’t know if he needs to be pushed, but he has got to be more aware of the small people, the people who don’t have the opportunity or the education.”

Braude acknowledges that he may not appear aggressive to some but says he picks his battles carefully.

“I have never been a shouter, or a screamer,” he said. “I believe in quietly making sure that things get done. . . . Sometimes when you act too quickly, you step on people’s toes. I think the way you move forward consistently and with strength is through consensus building.”

However, Braude seems genuinely perturbed at the charge that he has not represented Latinos in his district as well as he should have. He said he is aware that some Latino leaders are angry with him because he rejected their version of a redistricting plan for the 1st District last year. “Not because I didn’t want a Latino district, but because I thought we could make it an even stronger district,” he said.

He said he appointed several Latinos to city commissions and has always made an effort to “take the hand” of all people of color as he would with all constituents.

“This is the style that I’ve had,” he said. “It’s part of my nature. We are representatives with a little ‘r.’ The fact is to represent someone, you have to talk to them. You have to know how they feel.”

Most people agree that one of Braude’s greatest strengths lies in his social nature. In his free time, he enjoys going to the symphony and to movies. Somewhat paunchy, with a relaxed air and an easy grin, he is “eminently approachable,” as one supporter put it. Although he is sometimes an awkward public speaker--he tends to stumble through sentences--in person or in small groups Braude is persuasive and even eloquent.

Braude, who is divorced, said what is important to him is making the world a place where his 9-year-old son Jayson can get a good education, find a job, and raise a family without fear.

“My priority as a Congress person is to be part of the movement to turn around the country and put people back to work,” he said. “If I can be part of that, it will be a great accomplishment. I’m ready. It’s my time to show we can make a difference.”