Shoo-In Waxman Fires Off Funds to Democrats in the Hunt

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) will surely tune in to local television on election night to see how he does in his own reelection bid against challenger Paul Stepanek. But Waxman, expected to win that contest handily, has dozens of other races that also will be on his mind--in Michigan and Oregon and New Jersey and Washington and up and down his own state.

More than any other lawmaker, Waxman is giving away money left and right--actually, all of it is going left--to help Democrats win back the majority in the House of Representatives.

He has flung open his campaign chest and begun distributing healthy sums for anti-risk colleagues and up-and-coming Democrats with a chance of ousting Republicans.

In addition to individual donations exceeding $10,000, Waxman has made a whopping $50,000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party’s coordinating body for congressional contenders. No other lawmaker has come close.

“He really thinks we have a terrific chance to win back the House, and his contributions reflect that,” said Phil Schiliro, Waxman’s top aide. “He also thinks some other members may donate big sums if he steps forward and gives.”

Of the House’s 435 seats, the Republicans hold 235 and the Democrats 198. To make up the GOP’s 37-seat advantage, Democrats face the difficult task of sweeping a series of competitive contests that political analysts now consider too close to call.

That is why Waxman has sent off a $1,000 check to Rep. Elizabeth Furse of Oregon, whose race for reelection is being labeled one of the country’s most competitive. He’s also given similar sums to challengers such as Ellen Tauscher, who is vying to unseat Rep. Bill Baker (R-Danville), and Jeff Coopersmith, competing against Rep. Rick White (R-Wash.)

In local contests, Waxman has aided Doug Kahn and Brad Sherman with $1,000 each. Kahn is running against Assemblyman James Rogan to replace retiring Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale). Sherman is trying to outpoll Rich Sybert and follow Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), who is retiring.

Waxman, of course, is not the only one with his eyes straying beyond his district boundaries.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) has given $5,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and about $15,000 to other candidates as far away as New Jersey and New Hampshire. Waxman and Berman once ran the so-called “Waxman-Berman machine” that wielded heavy influence over local politics. These days, however, the two men are largely operating solo.

Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) has targeted a handful of conservatives for aid, such as Rep. Fred Heineman (R-N.C.) and Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho). Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) sent off $1,000 to Sybert, hoping a fellow Republican will take over the neighboring 24th Congressional District.

One reason for Waxman’s largess is that he has the most to spend. His campaign fund hovered around $625,000 at the end of June, according to the latest reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission. That was more than triple what Berman or McKeon had in their still-healthy campaign accounts, and about double Gallegly’s sum.

Waxman also has the most to gain if Democrats reseize the House. He is the No. 2 Democrat on the Commerce Committee and the ranking Democrat on the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, positions that could leave him with influential chairmanships next year.

Simple geography will prevent Waxman from stopping by all the victory parties he would like to visit on election night, from New York to Oregon. But if Democrats win big, Waxman surely will be celebrating from afar.

Office Politics

When voters elected Laura Chick to the Los Angeles City Council three years ago, they probably didn’t realize she was gifted in the art of Feng shui.

It’s just as well because few people understand the Chinese art of arranging furniture and objects to maximize the flow of energy, or chi.

This week, Los Angeles Magazine assigned Angel Thompson, author of a book on Feng shui, to evaluate the offices of several council offices, using a scale based on the free flow of chi.

Chick came out ahead with a score of 8. Thompson said the rock collection in Chick’s office added positive vibes and the potted flowers indicated lots of life.

However, the review criticizes Chick for having the entryway directly opposite a window, allowing energy to go right out the window, and for hanging photos of herself with celebrities and notables in her restroom.

Other council members did not fare as well. Thompson gave Councilman Mike Feuer’s offices a 3 1/2, suggesting he cover the windows to block the unpleasant view of City Hall’s roof and move Feuer’s office to a more powerful position.

She also frowned upon a dart board near the exit, saying it gives an impression that staffers are being attacked as they leave.

Councilman Joel Wachs, an art connoisseur, did a bit better, rating a 6 1/2.

Thompson liked the fact that five doorways lead to Wachs’ office, giving an aura of power. However, she criticized the dead plants in the office and suggested making the office seem “more serious” by removing some toys and drawings by a staff member’s daughter.

Overall, Thompson rated City Hall a 5, noting that the mayor’s office and the council chambers face in opposite directions, suggesting they are constantly at odds.

Maybe there is something to this Feng shui after all. . . .

A Tangled Web

Worried that city-sponsored pages on the Wold Wide Web could be used for political purposes, Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer called on the city’s Ethics Commission to set up ground rules for the page’s contents.

Feuer proposed the bylaws last year after reading the Web page for Mayor Richard Riordan, a site that included photos and a glowing biography of the mayor.

The commission adopted the rules in May, forbidding the use of city pages to endorse or support a candidate or ballot measure.

But the bylaws did nothing to prohibit the glowing biographies. The proof came last month when most members of the Los Angeles City Council launched new Web pages.

Take for example, an excerpt from the Feuer Web page:

“Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer has an unwavering commitment to public safety, ethics reform, fiscal responsibility and providing quality services to his constituents.”

Then there is the profile for Councilwoman Laura Chick, which says she “has vigorously sought to promote legislation which makes a difference in solving real problems, including creating a truancy ordinance to encourage kids to stay in school. . . . “

Councilman Marvin Braude’s profile describes him as “one of the council’s fiscal experts.” He is also described as “the council’s leader in opening city government to participation by citizens and in encouraging their involvement in city deliberations.”

Then there is the profile for Council President John Ferraro, which includes honors that few politicians can boast, such as being an All-American football player at USC, a member of the USC Rose Bowl team in 1944, 1945 and 1947 and a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

THERE ARE LIMITS: Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) admitted at a speech in Tarzana this week that current term limits for California legislators are too restrictive and should be relaxed.

Coming from a backer of the term limit measure, that’s an interesting admission, especially when coupled with Pringle’s statement that he will probably promote a change in the law--albeit one that will not lengthen his own stay in the Assembly.

Pringle said he thought 12 years as a legislator, not six for the Assembly and eight in the state Senate, was a reasonable amount of time to serve.

Six years is too short in that most lawmakers don’t get their sea legs until their middle two years, only to spend the last term looking for their next job, he said.

The speaker also said he opposed the current lifetime ban on returning to the Legislature, preferring a hiatus of four years before someone could run again.

Why did he back term limits in the first place?

Pringle said it was the best option available to dislodge legislators from what had become lifetime positions.

In the rally-the-troops part of his talk to the Republican activists, Pringle stressed the importance of keeping a GOP majority in the Assembly, not just for the immediate future but to control reapportionment, which changes the district boundaries every 10 years.

“If we lose the majority, we could possibly be writing it off for the next decade,” Pringle said.

The last time a GOP majority was returned to Sacramento was 40 years ago in 1956, he said.

Pringle was the featured guest later Monday at a fund-raiser for GOP Assembly candidate Mark Boos Benhard, who’s running against Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) in the 41st District.

GOP leaders would like to make Kuehl spend money on her own race, rather that raise it for other Democratic Assembly candidates, as she has been doing.

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QUOTABLE: “We have, literally, thousands and thousands of streets named for people, most of whom I have no idea who they are.”

--Councilman Richard Alarcon during the debate over naming a city street after Church of Scientology founder

L. Ron Hubbard.

Lacey reported from Washington, D.C.; Martin and Hill-Holtzman from Los Angeles.