Defeating ‘Hateful’ Man Was a Labor of Love

Political junkie that he is, John D. Shallman finds C-Span entertaining. Inside his Sherman Oaks home, Shallman would tune in and the politicians would make him smile and laugh, frown and sigh.

And then Rep. Robert K. Dornan, the bombastic archconservative from Orange County, would appear on the tube.

“I was just literally physically repulsed by this guy,” says Shallman, a lifelong Democrat. It wasn’t so much Dornan’s views as his crudeness, the way he spewed his “hateful, anti-everything message.”

Shallman, a 32-year-old father of two girls, hated Dornan’s brand of political leadership. He hated the way Dornan declared that males who support abortion rights are either “women trapped in men’s bodies like Phil Donahue or Alan Alda” or “just looking for easy sex.” He hated how Dornan blithely described President Clinton as “coke-snorting” and “a whoremonger.” He hated how Dornan crowed that, if he lost reelection, “every lesbian spear-chucker” will celebrate.

Bob Dornan, it is now obvious, made the wrong guy hate him.

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Dornan is kicking and screaming his way into retirement, and Shallman had a lot to do with it. That fact is well known in Orange County, where Shallman has been hailed for choreographing the biggest congressional stunner of ‘96, Loretta Sanchez’s 984-vote victory over Dornan. In Los Angeles, however, people may still ask, “Who’s John Shallman?”

Oh, he’s done this and that. A native of Chicago, Shallman came west 10 years ago to work on Sen. Alan Cranston’s last campaign in 1986. He opened a business consulting firm and did political jobs on the side. In 1993 he hooked up as deputy manager of Richard Riordan’s mayoral campaign--Riordan is the only Republican he’s ever voted for. The mayor rewarded him with an appointment to an obscure city commission that oversees such matters as taxi service. Shallman also worked for Rep. Jane Harman (D-Rolling Hills) in her victorious 1994 campaign.

The campaign Shallman would most like to forget was his own. In early 1994, he entered a six-way Democratic primary for the Assembly seat ultimately won by Sheila Kuehl. Although most of the district is in the San Fernando Valley, the candidates were Westsiders. Shallman entered the race as the Valley’s champion--and got trounced.

“Maybe,” he says, “it’s like the old saying about the lawyer who represents himself--he has a fool for a client.”

In April the political junkie found himself reading the primary results and was surprised by news from Orange County. Could a neophyte named Loretta Sanchez--a young woman, a Latina--knock off that creep Dornan?

Shallman called Sanchez and offered congratulations. He hosted a little fund-raiser at his home and made a modest contribution. Sanchez and Shallman hit it off. He offered informal advice, but with two kids at home, Shallman knew he couldn’t take the job unless Sanchez could meet his price.

Over the summer, it became apparent that Dornan was vulnerable. The district had historically voted Republican, but voters were voicing dismay with their congressman. His quixotic presidential campaign left him out of touch with his district; even some loyal Republicans had gotten tired of his act. The political middle, it seemed, was up for grabs.

Three months before the election, Sanchez met Shallman’s price and together they decided to gamble the campaign fund of about $100,000 on an advertising blitz. The idea was to close Dornan’s 18-point lead and thereby generate more contributions. Dornan, Shallman says, was “too arrogant” to respond. The blitz worked; a new poll showed the race to be even, and national Democratic funds poured into the Sanchez campaign’s coffers.

On Oct. 17, Clinton visited Orange County and gave the Sanchez campaign another jolt of energy. In a private moment, Clinton wrapped his arm around the candidate’s father and said, “If you win this one, it will be a shot heard ‘round the world.”

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Dornan has blamed his defeat not on himself but on the allegation, without offering a whit of evidence, that noncitizens cast the decisive ballots. In a cynical time, the idea has a certain currency, especially among those who are quick to demonize immigrants.

The theory, Shallman says in response, suggests that people who may fear la migra are somehow more motivated to vote than the vast number of citizens who are registered yet don’t show up at the polls. “More delusional ranting from Dornan,” he says.

Nobody expected Bob Dornan to be a gracious loser, but there is some irony. Shallman remembers one campaign event in which he listened to Dornan tell a reporter that, after his nine successful campaigns, his Democratic opponents had never called with congratulations.

Shallman reacted by reaching into his pocket for some change.

“I gave him a quarter and said to call us and congratulate us if we win.

“And I’m still waiting.”

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Please include a phone number.