Perot Volunteers Still Carrying the Torch : Politics: Long hours are standard for members of United We Stand, America, who say the billionaire’s magnetism motivates them as much as a desire to fix the system.

The laundry of Elslee Pardaffy is piling up. The 63-year-old woman, who co-chairs a Torrance chapter of United We Stand, America, has many, many other things to do.

She’s planning chapter meetings. Booking speakers. Circulating petitions. Coordinating volunteer schedules. Videotaping programs for members to watch. Even handing out flyers when grocery shopping. And always answering the phone.

“We put in seven days a week,” said Pardaffy, who runs the political watchdog group affiliated with Ross Perot along with her husband, Ed, 66, a retired aerospace worker. “The government is just a mess.”

To Elslee Pardaffy and hundreds of other South Bay residents who volunteer untold hours to the grass-roots organization inspired by Texas billionaire Perot, it seems that chores such as washing clothes are a low priority compared with cleaning up government.

“I’m embarrassed to say how much time I’ve put in,” said Larry Martz, who heads a chapter in South Torrance. “But it’s time to take back control of the government . . . from the special-interest groups.”

Rather than just fading away after Perot’s failed presidential bid, throngs of the independent candidate’s supporters are rechanneling their energies into United We Stand, America. Determined as ever, they say, its members hope the volunteer organization will help realize the major goals of the Perot candidacy: reduction of the national deficit, a balanced national budget and elimination of lobbyist influence in Congress.

Formed in January and in the midst of a major recruiting drive, exact membership numbers for the group in the South Bay are not available. So far, though, the South Bay has six chapters with memberships ranging from 25 to 75. There is a one-time $15 membership fee.

The South Bay chapters already had enough pull to command the attention of newly elected Rep. Jane Harmon (D-Marina Del Rey). Harmon met with about 130 members earlier this month, wanting to hear the group’s thoughts on President Clinton’s economic plan.

The congresswoman got an earful from the Perot followers, who are openly disdainful of both major political parties.

“We had some pretty sharp questions from our group members,” Elslee Pardaffy said. “She (Harmon) gave no definite answers to anything. She’s definitely a politician.”

Pardaffy and others said the group attracts people who identify with Perot’s plain-talking manner and independence, yet she conceded that these very traits have led to bickering within the organization.

“The organization has a reputation for being very independent,” said Martz, an independent building contractor. “You might say they are a rambunctious crowd to try to control.”

The organization’s chain of command is also being established. In a recent leadership dispute with county and state organizational officials, Martz was forced to step down as head of the group’s chapter in the 36th Congressional District. Martz had managed the territory’s affairs since the Perot campaign.

“We are having growing pains,” said Erica Stuart, a county spokeswoman for United We Stand, America.

But what accounts for the dogged devotion, especially in face of an apparent rejection of the group’s agenda in the November presidential election? Quite simply, members will tell you, it’s Perot himself.

“Ross Perot talks publicly about what millions of us are thinking and saying on a local level,” Martz said. “He is the magnet that draws us together.”

Pardaffy talked about Perot’s personal appeal that keeps the organization together and recalled a phone conversation with her political hero.

“I was so excited,” said Pardaffy, who taped the chat with Perot’s permission. “I sounded like a blithering idiot.”