Rogan Clashes With Schiff on Health, Education at Forum

Rep. James E. Rogan and challenger Adam Schiff, the leading candidates in one of the nation’s most widely watched congressional races, squared off Friday night in a tightly structured forum that marked their first joint appearance in the increasingly acrimonious contest.

Rogan, a two-term Republican congressman from Glendale who rose to national prominence with his controversial leadership role last year in President Clinton’s impeachment trial, faced Schiff, a Democratic state senator from Burbank, before an overflow crowd of more than 400 at a private school in the quickly changing 27th Congressional District.

At Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada Flintridge, Rogan and Schiff touched on topics that increasingly have dominated their campaigns: Social Security, health care reform and federal taxes.

Rogan and Schiff supporters seemed to be in a contest to see who could cheer or boo the loudest, prompting the moderator to plead for decorum. Minor party candidates had not been invited, prompting Libertarians to stage a loud, long demonstration outside the school.

Then, as Rogan and Schiff took the stage, Libertarian candidate Ted Brown tried to join them, while demonstrators shouted, “Censorship! Censorship!” Sheriff’s deputies escorted them outside.

Organizers of the event, a districtwide group of chamber of commerce officials called the Regional Coalition of Government Review Councils, tried to eliminate any possibility of genuine debate between Schiff and Rogan.

The format called for each candidate to give a two-minute opening speech, then to answer four questions, submitted in advance, allowing one minute for each answer. The candidates got two minutes each to close, and at the end of the forum took one question each from the audience.

Each managed to squeeze off some shots at one another, despite the strict format.

“Working across party lines is a strength, not a weakness,” Schiff asserted, referring to Rogan’s often strongly partisan position.

Rogan dug at Schiff’s support from teachers unions. Rogan, who favors merit pay for teachers, said his opponent and the unions protect bad teachers.

“It’s time to put kids ahead of union contracts,” Rogan said.

When Schiff attacked Rogan for his pro-gun voting record, the Republican retorted, “I wrote the toughest gun law in the country: 10, 20, life in prison.” He referred to legislation that adds prison time for felons who use a gun in the commission of crime.

Schiff also knocked Rogan’s “privatization scheme,” a reference to Rogan’s proposal to allow workers to invest part of their Social Security taxes privately.

When Rogan referred to major proposed legislation to overhaul health care coverage as a “full employment act for trial lawyers,” Schiff fired back. The measure, he said, has the support of senior citizens, health care professionals and 68 Republican members of Congress.

The 2 1/2-hour program was taped for airing by cable television stations throughout the district, which runs from Sunland/Tujunga to San Marino. Two radio stations broadcast the forum live, organizers said.

Democrats had considered the district ripe for taking over even before Rogan took on the president in the impeachment trial.

Once safely Republican, the district has increasingly voted Democratic in recent years, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by 44% to 37%. Entertainment and technology occupations have replaced defense industry jobs, attracting younger voters. A sizable, politically active Armenian community has developed in Glendale, and its once predominantly white communities include growing numbers of Latinos, blacks and Asians.

The Rogan-Schiff matchup is one of about four dozen close contests around the country that will determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives next year. But it is by far the most expensive; between them, the main contenders have amassed at least $7.5 million. And it has drawn the widest interest, in large part because of Clinton’s impeachment.

Rogan’s high-profile questioning of the president, and his frequent remarks on national television about Clinton’s conduct, made him a hero among conservatives around the country. But it angered Democrats, who accused Republicans of vindictive partisanship in pressing for impeachment in the wake of the White House scandals.

FO(2 photos), Rep. James E. Rogan, left, and state Sen. Adam Schiff, right, held their first joint appearance Friday night in their acrimonious race.