POLITICS : United They Stand Against Beilenson

A group of political neophytes who were energized by Ross Perot’s call to “take back their government” is trying to raise $4,000 to $5,000 to run a newspaper ad in the coming weeks searching for an unconventional candidate to challenge a veteran congressman.

If you want a different kind of political candidate, they reasoned, you have to take an unorthodox approach to finding one.

Faced with long odds, they hope to recruit a “political virgin” to run as an Independent for the congressional seat held by veteran Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills). The district, which extends from Sherman Oaks to Malibu and up to most of Thousand Oaks, was a hotbed of Perot support during the billionaire Texan’s 1992 presidential campaign.

“We want to show that we are the people who hire our congressman,” said Verne Balman, a Thousand Oaks businessman and one of the group’s coordinators. “They tend to represent their parties or their own interests.”

The mad-as-hell activists head a chapter of United We Stand America in the Conejo Valley. They run an office with individual contributions, staff it with volunteers and meet regularly to discuss their goals of reforming the federal government and slicing the budget deficit.

Although Perot himself appears diminished as a national force, these close-knit political outsiders intend to declare their independence by delving more deeply into the electoral arena. And, taking Perot at his word, they say: “We’re the boss.”

In the process, they face serious impediments as they attempt to mobilize support without Perot’s direct involvement. The tycoon has said that his nationwide organization will not endorse candidates for office because such a move could jeopardize its tax-exempt status.

Balman said that local chapters are prohibited by Perot’s headquarters in Dallas from even contacting the individuals in its area who have contributed $15 to join its ranks. The stated reason for the policy is to protect members’ privacy.

“We’re a national organization who doesn’t know its members,” Balman said. “That’s crazy.”

The Thousand Oaks activists must also overcome their lack of political experience--even if they regard this as a plus. And, while these business people, retirees, former teachers and postgraduates maintain that politicians of both parties are “bought and paid for” by big contributors, they still must raise enough money to make their candidate heard.

“We plan on doing it with people power,” said Roger Smith, a Newbury Park political independent who says he is disgusted by the government’s state of affairs.

They will need a lot of it. The Conejo Valley group is one of three Perot chapters in the 24th District. The two other United We Stand America chapters in the west San Fernando Valley and the mid-Valley appear inclined to support a Republican rather than join the Conejo Valley chapter’s effort to find an Independent candidate, Balman said.

Beilenson, a nine-term lawmaker regarded as a resilient and resourceful campaigner, challenged the group’s assertion that it represents even a majority of its own membership. He has met with the United We Stand America’s members at length.

“No matter what happens, in my opinion, a lot of the Perot people will support me, whether they are Democrats or Republicans,” Beilenson said. “Most of them are rational, thoughtful, sensible folks.” He called the candidate-seekers “self-proclaimed arbiters of taste.”

Robert K. Hammer, a Newbury Park investment banker and one of three Republicans seeking the GOP nomination, also claimed that he has wide support among those who find Perot’s ideas appealing.

He expressed skepticism that the Perot backers would field a candidate this year. But, even if they do, he predicted that the impact would be minimal, particularly since the Conejo Valley represents a minority of the San Fernando Valley-based district.

“There will be some splitting of the vote because there’s Democrats and Republicans alike in that one slice of the Perot group,” said Hammer. “I just don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference.”

Nine Conejo Valley members who attended a recent meeting reflected a mix of registered Democrats, Republicans and Independents. They were united in feeling alienated from politics and government.

Perot supporters are especially angry with Beilenson over his votes for President Clinton’s deficit-reduction plan and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Perot opposed both.

“There was no mistake about how the district felt,” Balman, a lifelong Republican, said of Beilenson. “He’s an employee. . . . Arrogant is the word we would tag on Tony.”

Beilenson maintained that NAFTA would create jobs in the United States, expand U. S. exports to Mexico and help reduce illegal immigration. But he also said emphatically that Balman and compatriots are wrong about district sentiments.

In the end, “a majority of the communications we received on NAFTA were in support,” Beilenson said. “But clearly that was an issue where those who opposed it were more adamant about it than those who were in favor. It’s clear that if a poll were taken on it, that a large majority of people would support it.”

Beilenson also chastised the Perot activists for failing to appreciate the impact of his vote on the Clinton budget plan. “It was the only viable effort that was available to cut the budget deficit,” he said. “In fact, it will and it did.”

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Disillusioned with the Democratic incumbent, the Conejo Valley group interviewed the three active candidates for the Republican nomination. In addition to Hammer, they are Richard Sybert, a Woodland Hills attorney and ex-aide to Gov. Pete Wilson, and Mark Boos Benhard, an Agoura businessman and former aide to former Rep. William E. Dannemeyer, a Fullerton Republican.

But the Perot activists decided that, in the words of one, “the Republicans and the Democrats are the same animal.”

“We like all three of them very much,” Balman said. “We feel they’d make excellent candidates in the traditional sense. But we’re not looking for the traditional sense.”