Kahn and Rogan Both Vying for Centrist Vote

Imagine the predicament of Democrat Doug Kahn, a candidate for Congress in a district that from all indications matches his moderate views.

Considering that his opponent, state Assemblyman James Rogan (R-Glendale), is one of the more conservative lawmakers around, Kahn expected to be easily distinguished as the moderate by voters.

But, at a recent campaign event, Rogan compared his own positions to those of Bill and Hillary Clinton often enough to be taken for a born-again Democrat. Rogan’s dive to the political center is so convincing that an otherwise favorable editorial in a local paper took a swipe at him for being so “Clinton-esque.”

Kahn is more likely to describe his rival’s recent attachment to the Clintons as Kafkaesque.

Rogan’s sudden infatuation notwithstanding, Kahn is campaigning as the mainstream candidate for the 27th Congressional District, while seeking to portray Rogan as an ally of House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The charge is underscored by the speaker’s featured appearances at Rogan fund-raisers, which prove, if nothing else, that Rogan is a rising GOP star.

If this Clinton-versus-Gingrich shadow contest seems vaguely familiar, it’s because it is being played out in races across the country as the two parties parry for power in the White House and in Congress.

The job, in a district that includes Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena, is open because veteran Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-Glendale) is retiring after 34 years in the House.

Moorhead leaves a district in flux, changing from a former Republican haven.

Democrats now have a one-point edge in registration, a split that typically favors Republicans, who are generally more faithful voters.

Still, voters in the district chose Clinton over President George Bush by 9% in 1992, with 18% of the vote going to Ross Perot.

Recent polls show Clinton leading Bob Dole there by 10 percentage points.

Thus, despite Rogan’s recent appearance at Dole’s side in Glendale talking about a GOP presidential win, the first-term assemblyman’s best hope of going to Washington lies in coupling his personal appeal with crossover votes from Clinton enthusiasts.

Rogan could suffer if enough voters are so enthusiastic about the president that they vote Democratic all the way down the ticket.

He does not, however, appear to be sweating it.

The former gang prosecutor and judge exudes confidence during interviews and in speeches. Unlike other GOP candidates for the state Legislature running in the area, Rogan is a regular participant in candidate debates, such as one in Altadena, where he invoked the Clintons’ names.

A spirited campaigner, Rogan has sufficient bipartisan support to have been named best Assembly member of the year by the California Journal. He received a No. 1 rating for integrity in the magazine’s poll.

Rogan has an up-by-the-bootstraps story that is a political consultant’s dream.

He was raised mostly by grandparents living on Social Security. His mother was a convicted felon who was a welfare recipient. Growing up, Rogan did not know his biological father, and his stepfather was an alcoholic.

After first dropping out of high school, Rogan eventually worked his way through UC Berkeley and UCLA Law School. He worked as a gang prosecutor in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, and became, at age 33, the youngest judge in the state.

But Rogan soon shed his black robe to run for the Assembly in a special election in 1993 to replace Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale), who was sent to prison after pleading guilty to a federal racketeering charge.

Kahn, meanwhile, has a sincere but low-key appeal. He has shown himself to be a credible candidate in two previous attempts to unseat Moorhead.

Given the cost of political campaigns these days, Kahn has another important asset--a trust fund from the Annenberg fortune.

Kahn’s paternal grandmother is Walter Annenberg’s sister. And the inheritance has enabled Kahn to pour $425,000 into his race this year.

But Kahn insists he is not a to-the-manor-born kind of guy, but someone who was raised mostly as a middle-class kid of divorced parents.

The trust fund windfall came in the mid-1980s, the result of media baron Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Annenberg assets.

Sent to boarding school at age 11, Kahn said he bonded with cooks and kitchen workers, not fellow students, and became a computer typesetter. He owned a small computer graphics firm in Altadena.

Kahn plugs away at his task of tying his rival to the stances he has taken, waving Rogan’s voting record, a Congressional Quarterly candidates survey and Rogan’s 0% voting rating from Planned Parenthood at a campaign forum put on by the American Assn. of Retired Persons.

Kahn’s chances to win depend in part on how well he does at reminding voters that Rogan was a leader in pushing the state Assembly version of the GOP congressional agenda.

That’s why Kahn invokes Gingrich and House Majority Leader Dick Armey at least as often as often as Rogan ties himself to the Clintons’ positions on paring down Medicare cost-of-living adjustments.

A Kahn mailer, featuring a photo of Gingrich and Rogan, sums up the strategy.

A cartoon bubble shows Gingrich asking, “James Rogan, will you help me cut school funding, slash Medicare, outlaw abortion and legalize assault weapons?” Rogan answers, “I will!”

Rogan’s response at a debate, after Kahn tried to tie them together: “It must be very frustrating for Mr. Kahn that he doesn’t get to run against Newt Gingrich.”

Rogan’s own mail, some of which is devoid of mention of the Republican Party, promises to protect Social Security and save the Medicare system, while denying welfare benefits to drug addicts and alcoholics.

In one mailer and in press releases, Rogan attacks Kahn for a much-criticized primary campaign brochure that reads like the beginning of a sex scene in a potboiler.

Kahn has apologized for the mailer, which alleged his primary opponent, former Screen Actors Guild President Barry Gordon, looked the other way while an agent licensed by the guild sexually harassed an actress.

Gordon, who vigorously denied the charge, has since endorsed Kahn.

While most pundits give Rogan the edge in this race, Kahn’s most recent poll shows the race is closer than expected.

If Rogan does win, his will be a triumph in a season where he probably would have had an easier go of it had he remained a Democrat. Rogan switched parties about five years ago when he realized his beliefs were more aligned with Republicans.

As for Kahn, he holds firm to the view that voters will choose the candidate who matches their positions on such core issues as abortion rights, gun control and public education.

Rogan opposes abortion and gun control, and favors school vouchers.

It is those issues that separate the true moderate from the convert, Kahn says.

“Jim is an attractive candidate who has a winning manner, but his positions on the issues are in the extreme,” Kahn said. “People in this district want to elect a moderate. That’s me.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Doug Kahn

Age: 44

Occupation: typesetter, small businessman.

Residence: Pasadena

Party: Democrat

Education: Attended Tufts University and the University of Miami

Background: A typesetter by trade, who owned a small computer graphics company, Kahn is a community activist and volunteer. He serves on the boad of Pasadena Planned Parenthood and is mentor in the Pasadena High School graphic arts program. Kahn is married and has two daughters, ages 5 and 1.

Issues: Kahn is running as a moderate Democrat who will be the antidote to House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He is pro-choice, favors gun control measures such as the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban and vows to protect Medicare and Social Security if elected. He sees investing in education and job training as the keys to a strong economy.

*

James Rogan

Age: 39

Occupation: Assemblyman

Residence: Glendale

Party: Republican

Education: Bachelor’s degree, UC Berkeley; law degree, UCLA

Background: The first- term lawmaker is Republican majority leader and was named the top legislator in the Assembly in integrity and rated “best overall” in the California Journal magazine poll. Rogan, a former judge and prosecutor, is married and has 4-year old twin daughters.

Issues: Rogan favors cutting income taxes 15%. He is an advocate of welfare reform, favors school vouchers and opposes gun control and abortion , except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother. In Congress, Rogan would work to deny welfare to drug addicts, alcoholics and those who have defrauded the system. He received an A+ rating from the California Chamber of Commerce.