Ventura Attorney to Challenge Rep. Gallegly

Saying that Ventura County’s traditionally conservative voters are ready for a moderate congressman, Ventura attorney Michael Case formally announced Tuesday that he is running against six-term incumbent Rep. Elton Gallegly.

Case, a 52-year-old Democrat, said he can knock off the entrenched Simi Valley Republican because local voters have shown a centrist bent in recent elections, and Gallegly is a die-hard conservative.

“He does not represent today’s voter,” said Case, declaring his candidacy on a hot summer day at Oxnard’s Heritage Square. “That same voter has continually crossed party lines to elect [state Sen.] Jack O’Connell, recently elected Gov. Gray Davis, and in Minnesota elected [Gov.] Jesse Ventura.

“Now that does not mean that I am ready to shave my head and change my name to Michael Minneapolis,” he said. “But it does mean that it is time for a change.”

Reading from a five-page prepared statement and flanked by supporters, Case, a founding partner in Ventura’s largest law firm, said he has never run for office but thinks that the time is right to follow in the footsteps of early American officeholders.

“I am what Thomas Jefferson talked about, a citizen stepping forward, with the knowledge of what the world is like outside of Washington, to put his back to the labors of running our government.”

Case said he knows the race against Gallegly--who has repeatedly won easily--will be long and hard.

“I know it’s an uphill battle,” he said, “but it’s a battle I can win.”

He will show his campaign is serious, Case said, by announcing within a month “significant funding.” He said previously that it would take $750,000 to beat Gallegly and that he would contribute up to $100,000 personally if necessary. Gallegly has said he already has about $750,000 in the bank.

Case said that he has not yet chosen a campaign manager and that he intends to continue to practice law part time even as his campaign hits its stride approaching the November 2000 general election.

Campaign consultant John Davies said Case would be wise to reconsider that strategy for at least the last six months before the election.

“Running for Congress is a full-time job--18 to 19 hours a day,” said Davies, a veteran of numerous Ventura County elections. “And the strength in any candidate is their endurance during the last eight weeks.”

Dressed in a dark suit, the silver-haired Case has received the endorsement of businessmen and public officials. Among his supporters are City Council members from Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo, former Chamber of Commerce presidents from Oxnard and Ventura, a labor union representative and Ventura’s superintendent of schools.

At the back of a small crowd stood former Ventura Mayor Richard Francis, a Democrat who decided last week not to run in the congressional primary.

“I want to watch,” Francis said, “but my endorsement’s probably not far behind.”

While saying he would rather cite his own credentials in the law--he is the next county Bar Assn. president--Case also criticized Gallegly.

In nearly 14 years in office, Gallegly “has not built a consensus nor has he achieved congressional leadership. He has driven wedges between races. He has ignored the working man in favor of moneyed interests. Until he realized that the handwriting was on the wall, he has ignored education and health care reform. Although a conservative, he has not even been an effective or eloquent spokesman for its principles.”

Gallegly said Case is distorting the congressman’s record.

“Words are easy and ignorance is bliss,” Gallegly said. “My record speaks for itself.”

He said that in condemning illegal immigration, he is only favoring the law, not picking on any ethnic group. He said he signed onto Social Security reform years ago, has criticized health maintenance organizations for years and is one of Congress’ most capable members in dealing with Democrats to craft good legislation.

As far as the campaign to come, Gallegly said he always runs as if his opponent is a serious threat, gathering support even in off years.

“Maybe I don’t spend as much time at the country club as he does,” said Gallegly, a former cabinet maker and real estate agent. “But I have probably the best grass-roots organization of any member of Congress.”

Gallegly claims a paid membership of 2,000 in his Congressional Club.

Case emphasized his own professional qualifications and personal history.

A farmer’s son from the San Joaquin Valley, Case was student body president at Fresno State College and graduated with honors from Hastings College of Law at the University of California in 1971. He was a captain in the Air Force, practiced civil law in Fresno and taught at a Fresno law school before moving to Ventura County in 1979.

Case co-founded a three-lawyer Ventura firm in 1981 that has grown to 16 attorneys. He has held numerous offices in the county Bar Assn. and served on the State Bar of California Board of Governors from 1993-96. He is one of four lawyers on the California Judicial Council, which oversees the performance of the state’s trial and appellate courts.