As the Mud Flies, Hoffman Says Sherman Laundered Money

It’s been a dry, hot summer, but somehow there’s plenty of mud flying--at least in the battle over a San Fernando Valley congressional seat.

Republican candidate Randy Hoffman this week accused incumbent Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), whom he is challenging in the November general election, of “laundering” $25,000 in contributions from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

That’s the amount the national party committee forked over to help Sherman pay off campaign debts left over when he ran for the State Board of Equalization and State Comptroller.

Accepting the money is “highly unethical” because the DCCC had already made the maximum contributions allowed to Sherman’s congressional account, said Hoffman’s campaign manager, Todd Slosek.

“It’s just a way a former tax attorney, CPA and incumbent congressman has circumvented campaign finance law,” Slosek said.

Sherman acknowledges he received the contributions, and his campaign manager said the donations were legal and even passed muster with the Federal Election Commission.

“The charge is largely untrue and certainly misleading,” said Peter Loge of the Sherman campaign.

“The money is perfectly, 100%, Good Housekeeping Seal-of-Approval, perfectly legal.”

Loge said Hoffman, president of Magellan Systems Corp. in San Dimas, is the wrong one to be screaming about finances.

“He’s so wealthy he can take a year off his job to run for office,” Loge said. “There’s nothing wrong with being rich, the problem is that’s all he brings to the table.”

Endorsement Repo

It didn’t take long for incumbent Rep. Jim Rogan (R-Glendale) to back away from 43rd Assembly candidate Peter Repovich after it was learned that the Los Angeles police officer had received a 44-day suspension in 1997 for sexual harassment.

Locked in a tough race with Democrat Barry Gordon for the 23rd Congressional District, Rogan withdrew his endorsement of Repovich, not wanting to give the appearance that he was in any way endorsing Repovich’s conduct.

“In light of Peter Repovich’s candid admission to the action for which the LAPD Board of Rights disciplined him, I withdraw my endorsement of his candidacy for state Assembly,” the former Glendale Municipal Court judge wrote. “Sexual harassment, especially by those in a position of authority, in the workplace cannot be tolerated.”

Repovich, who is challenging Democrat Scott Wildman (D-Burbank), was found guilty of five of 12 sexual harassment counts, including calling his female colleague “baby” and tickling her feet during a 1996 training session. Repovich defended his conduct as just a joke, also pointing out that the disciplinary board had noted he meant no harm.

Democrats say Rogan will be hurt no matter what stand he takes toward the misconduct.

“It’s not good for him to have the Repovich campaign collapse under him,” said Parke Skelton, who is Gordon’s campaign consultant. “In a district that’s going Democratic, he needs a motivated Republican base to win. This has to be dispiriting.”

But Republican consultant Allan Hoffenblum disagreed.

“Jim Rogan is a well-known politician in his own right, and this election is a referendum on his job performance, not any other Republican on the ballot.

“The problem is in Repovich’s court right now,” he said, adding: “I’d like to see what Wildman’s attitude towards Bill Clinton is, in addition to [toward] Repovich.”

Big Brother Beware

No more peeping.

A bill by Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster), would prohibit employers from videotaping employees in restrooms, locker rooms and other private places.

“Peering cameras should not be in areas where employees have an expectation of privacy,” Runner said. “This is simply a common sense approach.”

Assembly Bill 2303 sailed through the Legislature this week. Now it goes to Gov. Pete Wilson, who has two weeks to sign it. Wilson’s office said he has yet to review the legislation.

The bill grew out of a case involving a public school classroom. Runner said he became concerned last year after learning about a Palmdale teacher who had unknowingly been videotaped while she changed clothes in her empty classroom. A hidden camera meant to catch vandals had captured the instructor, he said.

Runner said the incident underscored the growing problems posed by video surveillance, a practice he said is becoming more widespread and sophisticated.

“In our efforts to find one or two individuals doing something illegal, we should not be disrupting the privacy of scores of others,” he said.

Runner said he is contemplating a bill that would require school districts to establish policies on privacy.

Three other states have enacted similar laws: Connecticut, Georgia and Michigan.

Employers in the private sector who want to keep an eye on possible wrongdoing can do so by obtaining a court order, Runner said.

Supersecret

How do you keep a spy plane from vanishing into thin air?

Find $39 million in the federal budget to keep it running.

Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) is pressing to restore slashed federal funding so defense workers can continue to maintain and operate the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane at Edwards Air Force Base.

“The SR-71’s capabilities are indispensable in defending America in this era of international terrorism and rogue nations armed with weapons of mass destruction,” McKeon said in a statement.

McKeon, who sits on the House National Security Committee, has introduced legislation to restore $39 million President Clinton cut from the budget with the line-item veto.

McKeon and other representatives also urged the Department of Defense to do the same in a letter issued by the lawmakers.

The Supreme Court ruled the line-item veto unconstitutional in June, throwing the spy plane funding into legal limbo. McKeon now argues that the money should be reauthorized in the wake of the court’s ruling.

McKeon spokesman David Foy was unable to say how many jobs are affected by the slashed federal funding, but said the SR-71 program employs “lots and lots of people.”

McKeon supports the line-item veto “as a tool to cut waste and spending,” Foy said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to support every decision by the president.”

Friends Indeed

The long campaign fight is over between City Councilman Richard Alarcon and Richard Katz, but a hint of bad feeling lingers.

Katz officially conceded and Alarcon officially declared victory Thursday in the June 2 primary election for the Democratic nomination to the 20th District state Senate seat. The announcement came two months after the fact because Katz dropped his lawsuit challenging Alarcon’s win by an eyelash margin of 29 votes.

But when asked if Katz had called him to congratulate him, Alarcon looked a little astonished and laughed, saying he hadn’t heard from his opponent. “I would welcome his support,” he began awkwardly, then quickly changed gears. “Uh, but most important is the support of voters.”

For his part, Katz sidestepped questions of whether he would support Alarcon, saying the two hadn’t talked.

It seems these same-party rivals had communicated only through intermediaries even as they prepared simultaneous press conferences to announce the outcome. Neither seemed eager to change that.