Rogan, Schiff Try Healthy Tugs to Woo Seniors

Seniors were the target Wednesday as both incumbent James Rogan and challenger Adam Schiff moved to woo a potentially critical group as their hard-fought race for Congress reached its final stage.

In Washington, Rep. Rogan (R-Glendale) taped a message to be played for seniors Thursday in the district he is fighting hard to keep, an area that includes Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena.

State Sen. Schiff (D-Burbank) collected endorsements and attended several gatherings of seniors, contending that his record on their behalf is stronger.

Seniors make up about 22% of the voters in the 27th Congressional District; about 50.3% of them are Republicans and 41.3% are Democrats. Of all registered voters in the district, 44% are Democrats and 37% are Republicans.

Each candidate pushed messages supporting protection for Social Security, calling for prescription drug benefits for Medicare patients, and endorsing HMO reform.

Schiff began the day with an appearance at a senior health fair at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Pasadena. More than 1,000 seniors attended, many drawn by the promise of the first flu shots available this year in the area.

“We have taken a number of very positive steps in the Legislature on health issues,” Schiff told the crowd seated under a large tent in the parking lot. “We have passed one of the strongest patients’ bill of rights in the nation.”

Rogan spokesman Jeff Solsby said the congressman favored legislation giving patients more protections. Solsby said that Rogan has a strong record fighting for seniors, and voters are responding well to his message.

“Adam Schiff is talking about it, but Congressman Rogan is doing it,” Solsby said. “The Congress just voted again for a lockbox to protect 100% of Social Security funds from being spent on other programs. Congress also modernized Medicare this year.”

Later Wednesday, Schiff accepted the endorsement of the National Council of Senior Citizens at the Pasadena Senior Center.

The group of more than 2,000 senior clubs, founded in 1961, cited Schiff’s “commitment to programs vital to the elderly, such as Social Security and the enactment of a universal prescription drug benefit under Medicare.”

“We believe you will be an effective, dedicated public servant who will fight to protect and expand Medicare and Social Security,” said Lois Wellington, whose group, Congress of California Seniors, also endorsed Schiff.

Schiff charged that Rogan has “affirmatively worked against the interests of seniors on issues, including patients’ rights and Social Security.”

With less than a week before Tuesday’s election, Rogan on Wednesday remained stuck in Washington over the budget impasse. Frustrated by his inability to return to his district sooner, Rogan videotaped a speech to be played at a senior citizen forum today at the Pasadena Senior Center. Although it is uncertain whether Congress will let out before the weekend, Rogan is hoping for a recess so he can jet back to Southern California on Friday, giving him scant time for one last barnstorming of his district.

Among those attending the senior fair were Marilyn Maxwell and Shirley McConnell of Pasadena, two longtime friends who disagree over whether Rogan has served the district well for the last four years.

“I do not like Rogan,” McConnell said, complaining that he is too conservative.

She disagreed with his aggressive work as a House prosecutor in the Clinton impeachment proceedings.

Maxwell, a 75-year-old registered Republican, said Rogan was just doing his duty. “As long as there was an impeachment, somebody had to fill those [manager] positions,” Maxwell said.

Even so, Maxwell said she has not yet decided who to vote for and has been frustrated by the large amount of negative, seemingly contradictory political advertising sent out by the two candidates.

Dale Short, 67, said he is looking forward to voting for Rogan, and even traveled to a recent campaign event to hear the congressman speak via satellite from Washington. Short, who contributed $250 this week to the Rogan campaign, said he likes the incumbent’s stand on tough immigration laws, including those cracking down on illegal immigrants.

“Everything Rogan does is more honest than what Schiff does,” Short said.

Schiff, in a broadcast ad that began running Tuesday, appears with his father, recalling the time he was hospitalized and vowing to support a patients’ bill of rights.

A recent poll done by the Schiff campaign had the challenger leading Rogan among all voters in the 27th District by 6%, but the two were neck and neck, with 47% each, among voters over 65. The Rogan campaign has not done similar polling.