Sister Act in Congress Is Closer to Reality

Boosted to a Democratic primary victory in part through the fund-raising prowess of her sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez on Wednesday relished the prospect of joining her older sibling in Congress.

Linda Sanchez, a former labor attorney, narrowly defeated South Gate Councilman Hector De La Torre. She is now considered the overwhelming favorite in the largely Latino 39th Congressional District in southeast Los Angeles County.

“You showed me that this experience was really worth every ounce of energy,” said Linda Sanchez to Loretta, her voice cracking during her victory speech. “If I am so lucky to win in November, I really look forward to walking the halls of Congress with you.”

While salsa music blared at her Tuesday night celebration at a Whittier restaurant, Linda Sanchez and her sister worked their way through dozens of supporters angling for pictures of what could become the first sister act in Congress.

“It is so great to just be near them at these moments,” said their father, Ignacio Sanchez. “Just to breathe the same air is an honor.”

The district, which stretches from the immigrant gateway neighborhoods of South Gate and Lynwood to the racially mixed middle-class communities of Lakewood and La Mirada, was added last year after the 2000 census. Its borders were carved out to increase Latino representation in Washington.

Loretta Sanchez, an Orange County Democrat, called her sister’s victory important not only for Latinos but also for women. And while they agree on many issues, she expects her more liberal sister to cut her own path in Washington. “I’m excited at the possibility of her being elected to the House,” she said Wednesday. “She has lots of talents, some of them different than mine, and I will try to help her any way I can.”

Political observers say Linda Sanchez’s immediate task will be to dispel perceptions that she is an outsider from Orange County who bought the election with big sister’s help. Sanchez, who moved to Lakewood in 1999, raised about $450,000, much of it with Loretta’s assistance. De La Torre raised about $150,000.

Sanchez’s barrage of negative mailers and cable television advertisements angered many Latino leaders, analysts said.

“Linda has lots of fence-mending to do,” said Jaime Regalado, executive director at the Edmund G. Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. “She ran a very negative campaign, and virtually all the opponents in the race really disliked her personally for it.”

Sanchez, 33, said she was the victim of several negative ads herself, and said she would try to repair relations with fellow Democrats before the November election, in which she will run against Republican businessman Tim Escobar.

The Sanchez sisters grew up in a family of seven children in Anaheim. Nine years older than Linda, Loretta playfully admits being the “bossy” older sister who often played mother, dressing Linda in the mornings and shuttling her to school.

As adults, the sisters first teamed up politically in Loretta’s stunning upset victory over longtime incumbent Robert K. Dornan in 1996. Linda helped as a campaign worker in that effort and subsequent elections.

Their roles reversed last year, when Linda decided to run for the open 39th District seat against four other candidates.

Loretta Sanchez returned from Washington on weekends and walked precincts with her sister. She also tapped her donors and Washington connections for contributions.

The Linda Sanchez donor list, on file with the Federal Election Commission, includes people from across the nation.

Painter Ann Stokes, who runs an art colony in West Chesterfield, N.H., said she was approached by someone who asked for a contribution “for Loretta Sanchez’s sister.”

“I said, ‘I don’t know Linda Sanchez, but if she is Loretta’s sister, then I’ll do it,’ ” said Stokes, who gave $250 last month.

Political analysts said Loretta Sanchez’s help was crucial. Her sister ended up with 34% of the vote. De La Torre followed with 29% while Assemblywoman Sally Havice captured 19%.

Although victory belonged to Linda Sanchez, Loretta Sanchez also stands to benefit. Still smarting from a controversial fund-raiser at the Playboy Mansion in 2000, Loretta’s role in the campaign helped her reestablish credibility, analysts said.

“To be a power nationally, you have to prove you have power in your own home base,” said Allen Hoffenblum, a longtime political consultant.

While there have been other sibling teams in Congress, most notably Robert and Edward Kennedy, the Sanchezes would be the first sisters to serve simultaneously, according to the Sanchez campaign.

Both are described as aggressive and headstrong, but they often differ politically. Loretta Sanchez, a 42-year-old former businesswomen, focuses on fiscal issues. Linda, who comes from a labor background, says she’s more attuned to civil rights and immigration issues.

In an unusual move during the campaign, most of the Democratic candidates criticized Sanchez and demanded that she pull negative cable TV ads.

De La Torre appears to have suffered the most in ads that he says distorted his record in South Gate. The ads called him corrupt even though law enforcement authorities consider him a corruption fighter.

De La Torre kept his vow to not engage in negative campaigning, a move some say hurt his chances. But he said he’ll live with his decision.

“I’ll be able to get up and look myself in the mirror and be comfortable with everything I did,” he said. “I don’t think she can say the same.”