Sherman’s Decision to Repay Himself Raises Questions

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) is catching flak from some fellow Democrats for using $245,000 this year contributed to his reelection committee to repay himself for loans he personally made to his earlier campaigns.

Asked about the payments by The Times, Sherman said this week that he has decided to discontinue the practice, which is perfectly legal, for the remainder of the 2000 campaign. He cited increased fund-raising by his Republican challenger, Jerry Doyle.

“I do need to pay back the debt,” said Sherman, a tax attorney by training. “I don’t think I will be paying back any more debt for the rest of this campaign.”

Although some Democrats said Sherman wasn’t doing anything unusual, other prominent party officials grumbled privately over what they see as a diversion of funds that could be used by candidates wrapped up in more competitive races.

“It would be nice if he concentrated on repaying himself in his off [nonelection] year,” said one Democratic strategist. “It would be better if those contributions could go to candidates who could use them.”

Other Democrats said it was smart strategically to pay down the debt in a campaign year when the opposition is not well-financed, so he is not vulnerable if a stronger candidate challenges him in the future.

Sherman’s campaign finance reports for the six months ending June 30 show that his campaign raised $260,000 and repaid $245,000 to Sherman for loans he made to his committee for the 1996 and 1998 campaigns. At the end of the period, Sherman reported he was still owed $433,000 by his committee.

Sherman’s campaign had $163,000 in the bank as of June 30, but he has built on that with fund-raisers, including one this week that featured U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and was expected to bring in $25,000.

The congressman cited Doyle’s recent decision to lend his campaign $80,000 as the reason for discontinuing the practice of repaying himself for past loans.

Sherman said that any campaign money he used this year to repay himself was raised last year, when he benefited from a series of fund-raisers capped by an October barbecue attended by President Clinton.

Clinton appeared at the fund-raiser specifically to help Sherman retire his debt, said Mike Gatto, the congressman’s campaign manager.

Several high-profile congressional races where Democrats are struggling against better-funded Republicans are unfolding in Southern California, including the matchup between state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale).

Democratic activist Elisa J. Charouhas, who ran against Sherman in the 1996 Democratic primary, said contributions would be put to better use going to candidates who need them.

“I think it’s a shame that money that could go to helping other candidates is actually paying off an old debt,” she said.

Sherman disputed the complaint. He estimated he has helped raise about $150,000 during the last year for other congressional candidates.

POLITICOS MUSICALES: Music and politics are a hit combo recently.

City Council members Nick Pacheco, Mike Hernandez and Alex Padilla recently declared a Rock En Espanol Day for the city.

The popular rock en espanol scene is spreading across the country, and the trio of Latino councilmen said Los Angeles is the cradle of the movement. They chose Aug. 11 for recognition of this music genre.

On the other side of the musical spectrum, Padilla on Monday sat on a “Rap the Vote 2000” panel moderated by comedian David Alan Grier. Other panelists included filmmaker John Singleton, director of the current “Shaft” remake and “Boyz N the Hood”; Russell Simmons, the co-founder of the hip-hop and rap record label Def Jam; singer Erykah Badu, known as much for her smooth tracks as her elaborate head wraps; Angela Angel, at 20, the youngest African American woman delegate at the DNC, and rapper Common. The panel was sponsored by Democracy Live, the Democrats’ official closed-circuit channel originating from Staples Center.

Padilla’s spokesman David Gershwin said one key message emerged: Politics isn’t just about bigwigs in Washington, D.C. “Getting people involved and caring about the community--that can be political,” he said.

SPINEFLOWER SPIN: Once again, the humble San Fernando Valley spineflower is the hottest botanical newsmaker since that odd corpse flower that bloomed at the Huntington Library in San Marino last summer.

(You might recall that thousands lined up for a sniff of the rare 6-foot-tall bloom that smells like rotting garbage.)

By contrast, the spineflower is a low-key bit of flora--so low key, it was thought to be extinct. But the discovery of the plants last year on land where the proposed 3,050-home Ahmanson Ranch project would be built has spurred a huge fight by opponents of the development.

Contributing to the latest flower hubbub are letters fired off by congressman Sherman and Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica).

Sherman’s Aug. 9 letter to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt requests the creation of a task force to preserve the rare blooms.

Several colonies of the plant, plus the discovery of the federally endangered California red-legged frog, were found on the 2,800-acre Ahmanson property in eastern Ventura County near Calabasas. Because of those recent finds, Sherman has sought a new environmental report for the project because neither species was listed in the current environmental study, which was approved in 1992.

To protect the spineflower, Sherman asked Babbitt to support an independent panel that does not “include any experts who are financially affiliated with the project applicant or its subsidiaries.”

A few days later, Kuehl sent a copy of Sherman’s letter to Robert Hight, director of the state Department of Fish and Game, repeating the need for the task force.

Tim McGarry, a vice president for Washington Mutual, the developer of Ahmanson Ranch, said that both Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are adequately involved with the environmental issues.

“The agencies represent the public, and no panel is required to review their work,” McGarry said. “The point of this highly irregular proposal is simply to delay the project.”

STILL IN THE FRAY: Two months from his 89th birthday, former Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi has been advised by his doctors to stay out of politics and enjoy a quiet retirement in Van Nuys.

But Bernardi built a reputation during 32 years on the council as someone who goes his own way, often ignoring the advice of others.

So it is no surprise that Bernardi hasn’t been able resist jumping into the fray on a hot local issue.

He has agreed to sign on as a leading opponent of the proposed $532-million city bond issue to build fire stations and animal shelters.

“I try to stay out of it. I prefer to have the people who are elected do their job,” Bernardi said. “But I can’t in this case. Somebody isn’t doing their job.”

Bernardi said voters should not approve new bonds and tax increases when the city has not delivered on promised projects approved as part of past bond measures.

In particular, Bernardi is mad that his former northeast San Fernando Valley council district has not received a new police station first promised by the city in 1986 and included in the list of projects planned as part of a bond measure approved by voters in 1989.

“Before they build anything else, they ought to finish what they promised,” Bernardi said.

The former councilman, who still leads a big band in periodic performances, has joined Valley secessionist Richard Close in signing a ballot argument against the bond measure.

Beyond that, Bernardi is not sure how active he will be in opposing the measure, which has the support of Mayor Richard Riordan and much of the City Council.

“My doctors tell me, ‘Bernardi, please stay out of politics,’ ” he said, laughing. “What my doctors said was that I get too emotionally involved.”

SHARING THE LIMELIGHT: The nation’s attention may be focused each night on the Democratic National Convention in downtown Los Angeles, but the hot ticket Wednesday morning was for a Republican-sponsored event half an hour away in Pasadena.

An overflow crowd of 460 people packed a ballroom at the Pasadena Doubletree Hotel to attend a forum featuring congressman Rogan and former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett discussing the state of the nation’s schools.

Both Republicans spoke of the need for education reform, including accountability by the schools.

Rogan, whose reelection campaign is facing a tough challenge from Schiff, took advantage of Bennett’s cross-party appeal to attract Democratic and Independent voters from the district to hear his views on education reform.

The event was sponsored by the group Women for Rogan, which sent invitations to district voters who might not normally think of voting for Rogan, according to Jason Roe, a campaign spokesman.

“Our goal was to bring in people who might not be Rogan supporters and let them hear Rogan speak on education,” Roe said.

Bennett, author of the bestseller “Book of Virtues,” proved a powerful draw. After he spoke, he was mobbed by fans who asked him to sign books.

The room was filled beyond capacity, and there were 100 people on a waiting list who were not able to get in, Roe said.

“I underestimated Bennett’s appeal,” Roe said. “He is wildly popular.”