James Rogan May Be GOP’s Savior : Politics: The conservative freshman Assemblyman from Glendale has a knack for getting along. Now some Republicans are touting him as a Speaker candidate who could end the partisan bickering.

Now that nearly every political commentator has portrayed the squabbling state Assembly as a) a sandbox, b) a frat house or c) a cellblock of juvenile delinquents, some legislators are beginning to think it’s time to clean up the act.

But after weeks of partisan bickering that stooped to new lows, how do Assembly leaders go about bridging gaps and restoring order? Put a judge in charge?

To Republican strategists, that seems as good an idea as any.

Enter GOP Assemblyman James E. Rogan of Glendale who, in little more than a year on the job, has struck many on both sides of the aisle as judicial in manner and the way he approaches legislation. He is that rare breed of right-wing Republican: a born-again, conservative Christian who is not an immediate turnoff to liberal Democrats.

“The Judge,” as he’s known, received his basic training during three years on Glendale’s Municipal Court bench, and, according to Republicans, may be just the mediator needed to settle disputes and reassert decorum in the bitterly fractured Assembly.

Recently, GOP caucus members voted to back Rogan as their rainy-day candidate for Speaker should the opportunity arise to oust current Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress). It was Allen’s elevation in a Democratic ploy June 5 that set Republicans and Democrats lunging at each others’ throats.

The scenario has GOP Assemblyman Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) retaining his role as the caucus leader and key fund-raiser, but turning over the actual running of the house to Rogan’s fresher face.

A party loyalist and Brulte defender, Rogan, 37, is not above wagging a finger at the Democrats. He doggedly pursues a conservative agenda, but he lacks the shrillness of some of the more conservative Republicans.

In the heat of debate, Rogan rises at his microphone to rail against what he sees as faulty procedural rulings, favoritism in the lower-house’s rules and political gamesmanship--but he typically refrains from personal attacks.

“I have a good working relationship with almost everybody,” Rogan says. “This is--for better or worse--a house which is essentially evenly divided and is, therefore, a house that must learn to work together.”

When Republicans pulled together a 40-39 Assembly majority this year, putting Democrats at a disadvantage for the first time in more than two decades, many of the old battle-scarred “bulls” among the GOP caucus felt it was their turn to draw blood.

But where some saw the opportunity for retaliation, others--such as Rogan--saw a chance to build bridges.

“We cannot be so vain . . . as to perceive a bare majority as an overwhelming mandate that would allow us the comfort of ignoring what our friends on that other side have to say,” Rogan says.

Not all Republicans take kindly to such talk, least of all those who have waited impatiently for their time in power. But GOP realists who saw their chances slip away when Allen sided with Democrats are now offering up Rogan, the guy everyone seems to like.

Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills), who showed little restraint in branding Allen a traitor, says selling Rogan as the GOP’s “compromise candidate” makes sense.

“I think Jim can be the olive branch,” Boland says. “He has a good enough rapport with the Democrats. They know he was a judge and that he weighs everything he does in terms of fairness.”

Former GOP caucus staffer Phil Perry is more direct: “The guy practically oozes fairness.”

Even Democrats apparently recognized that quality when they tried to recruit Rogan as an alternative to Brulte in the days before they settled on Allen.

But that was then. Now, Republicans are trying to offer Rogan as bait, and Democrats are saying they won’t bite--even as they are being approached individually by their GOP colleagues.

For one thing, with Allen as their ally, the Democrats are perfectly satisfied with things as they are, said Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar).

“The question every Democrat’s going to ask is, ‘Is Rogan going to propose a deal that’s more advantageous to Democrats than the current arrangement? Because if not, why would we abandon the person we voted for?’ ” Katz said.

Katz also didn’t buy the Republican’s answer--that it’s worth putting Rogan in charge if the move restores harmony to the house.

“The ones making that argument are the ones who are mostly behaving like children,” Katz contends. “They are the ones engaged in the food fight, engaged in the name-calling and the parliamentary gimmicks and the maneuvering and the tactics. To restore decorum, all they have to do is stop.”

Rogan’s reputation as a bridge-builder was forged as he worked with Democrats on bills in which both sides saw merit. Finding a conservative willing to see things their way surprised some Democrats.

Assemblywoman Sheila J. Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) praises Rogan for sharing her vision on the need for stronger domestic violence laws; Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) is indebted to Rogan for supporting a bill legalizing the medical use of marijuana; Katz won Rogan’s crucial backing for a measure hiking penalties for carrying concealed firearms.

But Rogan is perfectly capable of bringing them all back to earth with a thud. One such reality check came with his vote to kill a bill outlawing “Saturday night specials,” those cheap handguns that Democrats and many in law enforcement believe contribute to rising crime.

Voter registration figures reveal more Democrats than Republicans in Rogan’s 43rd Assembly District--45% to 41%. Yet Rogan opposes abortion rights and supported Proposition 187, the crackdown on public services for illegal immigrants. He has accused Democrats of voter registration fraud and has accepted campaign contributions from the Allied Business Pac, a prominent coalition of Christian Right businessmen. The National Rifle Assn. is a solid Rogan supporter.

Sandy Cooney, regional director for Handgun Control Inc., contends that Rogan is “irresponsible and out of touch with constituents” for his pro-gun vote.

Rogan, who says he owns three handguns to protect his wife, Christine, and young twin daughters, said his philosophy on the gun issue is based on the U.S. Constitution’s right to bear arms.

And, he says, “If anyone wants to know where I stand on criminal justice issues, they can go out to the state prisons and talk to the guys I put there as a prosecutor and judge.”

At the age of 33, Rogan became California’s youngest sitting judge when he was appointed to the bench by Gov. George Deukmejian in 1990. Before that, Rogan was a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney best known for presenting a closing argument without saying a word: In prosecuting a drunk-driving case, Rogan poured 10 cans of beer in 10 cups for the jury and snapped his fingers.

He was also a Democrat in those days, but switched his affiliation in the late 1980s after deciding the party had become too liberal. The changeover came just in time to catch Deukmejian’s eye as he was getting ready to fill hundreds of new openings on the bench.

An avid collector of campaign memorabilia, Rogan has been a political history buff dating back to his boyhood, when he corresponded with whichever political figures would answer his letters, including former President Harry Truman.

This gives him a longer view of events in the Assembly, he says.

“In a very large sense, part of what’s going on up here that is frequently perceived as gridlock is exactly what the Founding Fathers intended we have in a representative democracy,” Rogan said. “We call it gridlock today. They called it checks and balances.”

Surprisingly, Rogan does not agree with most observers that the Assembly is drowning in a tidal wave of rancor.

“Sparks are inevitable,” he says, nevertheless acknowledging that “at some point we are going to have to resolve to work together for the collective good of the people of California.”

As for his ambitions, Rogan says he is a somewhat reluctant Speaker’s candidate, and that many others could do the job. “Of the 79 people in the Assembly, if you scratched 78 of them deep enough, you’d find the desire to be Speaker,” he said. “I’m that 79th one.”

Rogan says he has not yet charted his future plans, but speculation in political circles is that he would jump at the chance to run for Congress should U.S. Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale) announce his intent to retire. At the same time, conservative Republicans in the state Senate are pulling Rogan in that direction.

If drafted for a leadership role in the Assembly, however, Rogan says he would feel obliged to stick around to do the “very best I could, to do everyone proud, not just Republicans.”

“Being Speaker of the house is in many ways like being a judge in court--you have to be fair not just for the majority party but for the whole house,” Rogan says. “I didn’t ask for it but I’m honored that my colleagues believe I can handle it.”

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Profile: James E. Rogan

* Born: Aug. 21, 1957, in San Francisco

* Residence: Glendale

* Education: UC Berkeley, B.A. in political science; UCLA School of Law, J.D.

* Career highlights: Attorney, 1983-85; L.A. County deputy district attorney, 1985-1990. Glendale Municipal Court judge, 1990-1994. First elected to the Assembly in May, 1994.

* Interests: Since age 9, an avid collector of political memorabilia.

* Family: Married to Christine; two daughters, twins Claire and Dana.

* Quote: “I view our [Assembly] as 79 people, most of whom traveled a very tough road to get here, most of whom are committed to certain principles. When those principles clash, we clash. But it should always be in the spirit of political warfare and not personal enmity. I tried never to be personal in my approach to the law either as a prosecutor or as a judge. I certainly try never to be personal in my political approach.”