Beilenson Plans Thousand Oaks Office

Despite a resounding rejection by conservative voters in Thousand Oaks, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) said Friday he soon will open a congressional office in Thousand Oaks to serve his new constituents.

Beilenson handily defeated Republican challenger Tom McClintock on Tuesday with the solid backing of Los Angeles County voters in the newly redrawn 24th Congressional District that now stretches from the San Fernando Valley to Malibu and Thousand Oaks.

The longtime Democratic congressman said he holds no ill will toward the voters in Thousand Oaks, who gave McClintock 55.9% of the vote compared to 39% for Beilenson. In the larger Los Angeles County portion of the district, the ratio was reversed, with 60.6% of voters favoring Beilenson compared to 33.9% for McClintock.

“It’s the first time I’ve had the privilege of representing Thousand Oaks,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Beilenson said he already has begun talking to landlords to secure office space in Thousand Oaks. “I hope to arrange to rent the space in the next few days if possible. If not then, sometime in the next month,” he said.

The congressman said his Thousand Oaks office will have a full-time staff of two or three people to handle questions, complaints and needs of constituents having trouble with the federal bureaucracy.

Beilenson said he will visit the office as often as possible when he is not in Washington. “I will be there at least as often as I’m in the other office,” he said. “I like to serve the people I represent as well as possible.”

Beilenson, who has represented the Westside area of Los Angeles for 16 years, decided to run for reelection in the new 24th Congressional District rather than compete against longtime ally and friend Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles). The two lawmakers were tossed into the same congressional district earlier this year when the state Supreme Court redrew congressional district lines.

Beilenson will not officially represent the new 24th Congressional District, including most of Thousand Oaks, until the new Congress convenes Jan. 5. But he said his staff workers may move in sooner to begin setting up the office.

Because of the change in boundaries, Beilenson plans to close an office in the federal building that serves his old Westside district.

An existing office in the San Fernando Valley will remain in Tarzana or be moved to Woodland Hills, he said.

When he is sworn into office in January, Beilenson will be one of two congressmen representing Ventura County.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) will represent the new 23rd Congressional District, covering all of Ventura County except for most of Thousand Oaks.

Gallegly has had an office in the Westlake area of the city for six years. But he said this week that he is considering moving the office to a more central location, possibly in Camarillo, as a way to unite the eastern and western portions of the county.