42nd Congressional District

Although the area is one of the most solidly Republican in the state, three Democrats are vying for the right to take on the winner of the hotly contested GOP primary battle in the 42nd Congressional District. Republicans hold a 52% to 37% lead in voter registration in the district, which has been represented for a decade by Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach). He is stepping down to pursue the state treasurer's post.

Serving up one of the country's most titillating congressional races, the Republican incumbent here is hoping that the party faithful are either forgetful or forgiving that he was caught by police with a prostitute last year, and will understand why he is delinquent in paying some of his property taxes. Freshman Rep. Ken Calvert, 41, said he believes he has weathered the run-in with the prostitute, which did not lead to criminal charges, and he said the $16,000 property tax bill will be paid as soon as entangled divorce proceedings are completed.

The spotlight is shining on other Republican candidates, but that has not stopped two Palos Verdes Peninsula lawyers, Robert Welbourn and Don Davis, from quietly waging their own campaigns in the 42nd Congressional District. While attention has been focused on the four leading contenders in the Republican race to fill the seat being given up by Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach), long-shot candidates Welbourn and Davis have continued to press their prospects.

Congressional candidate Dick Rutan suffered a painful setback Friday when his former girlfriend and co-pilot on his historic, around-the-world Voyager flight defected and endorsed his rival in the San Bernardino County race, Democratic Rep. George E. Brown Jr. Shortly before the June primary, Jeana Yeager signed a letter backing Rutan's candidacy and calling her onetime partner "a proud American who wants to build a better Congress."

James Cavuoto Age: 33 Home: Torrance Occupation: Owner of publishing company for computer-related literature. Background: Former editor of Lasers and Applications magazine; public relations officer with Hughes Aircraft Co. Has a biomedical engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Since Rep. Dana Rohrabacher sailed into office two years ago with nearly two-thirds of the vote, the former speech writer for Ronald Reagan has felt some adverse shifts in the political winds. A staunch opponent of abortion, Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach) has seen a surge in abortion rights activism since the U.S. Supreme Court last year granted states greater authority to restrict the procedure.

Democratic congressional candidate Guy Kimbrough believes America can do better. The history and political science instructor from Huntington Beach calls it is "a disgrace" that homeless people walk the streets in front of $300,000 homes in Orange County and other parts of the 42nd Congressional District. He voices concern about the lack of national health insurance for millions of working Americans who do not have medical coverage. "That's not my idea of a safety net," he said.

You can tell elections are near, as the air is getting rather foul due to all the dirt being tossed around. I refer to election-time as "Dirt Excavation Season," as certain candidates go to great lengths in digging up all the filth they can find on their rivals rather than concentrating on the issues. The end results often involve questionable revelations rather than hard data, including rumors or half-truths or statements taken out of context or misdeeds done early in life, such as the failure to be potty-trained until age 5. Some candidates even have special employees working round the clock to dig up such filth.

George Hatch's article on redistricting (South Bay, Aug. 17) appears to violate journalistic standards. Since the statement "none (of the incumbent congressmen) is expected to experience serious opposition" lacks attribution, we must conclude that this is the reporter's viewpoint. If so, doesn't this article belong on the editorial page? No matter how innocuous it may seem, injected bias like this only offers one more advantage to incumbents. Considering that Rep. (Dana) Rohrabacher (R-Lomita)

I certainly do not want Harriett M. Wieder to be my representative in the 42nd Congressional District. And I no longer want her as the chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. First, she sets a very bad example. Lots of people have worked very hard and sacrificed much in order to get a bachelor's degree from college. Now we find that we have somebody, in the public eye, who for 25 years has maintained a fiction. I realize that a lot of small-minded people claim awards and degrees that are not true, in order to embellish their rather petty pasts, but Wieder is supposed to be someone that we can look up to, a leader.

This used to be a blue-collar town, a place where the bulk of the jobs were at Henry Kaiser's steel mill and most folks picked the Democrat on Election Day. But the '80s brought change to Fontana, and to the region that cradles it. Kaiser closed up shop, and the gritty city was reborn as a tree-lined bedroom for families chased inland by soaring home prices in the Los Angeles megalopolis. In 1988, voters here went Republican, backing George Bush for President.

Since Rep. Dana Rohrabacher sailed into office two years ago with nearly two-thirds of the vote, the former speech writer for Ronald Reagan has felt some adverse shifts in the political winds. A staunch opponent of abortion, Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach) has seen a surge in abortion rights activism since the U.S. Supreme Court last year granted states greater authority to restrict the procedure.

George Hatch's article on redistricting (South Bay, Aug. 17) appears to violate journalistic standards. Since the statement "none (of the incumbent congressmen) is expected to experience serious opposition" lacks attribution, we must conclude that this is the reporter's viewpoint. If so, doesn't this article belong on the editorial page? No matter how innocuous it may seem, injected bias like this only offers one more advantage to incumbents. Considering that Rep. (Dana) Rohrabacher (R-Lomita)

James Cavuoto Age: 33 Home: Torrance Occupation: Owner of publishing company for computer-related literature. Background: Former editor of Lasers and Applications magazine; public relations officer with Hughes Aircraft Co. Has a biomedical engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University.

For Democratic candidates, the 42nd Congressional District should be as inviting as the Sahara. Republicans hold a 53% to 36% edge in registration in the largely coastal district, which stretches south from Torrance to Huntington Beach. The incumbent, Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita), is sitting on $100,000 in campaign cash and faces no primary opponent. Despite the adverse conditions, three Democrats--James Cavuoto, Guy C. Kimbrough and Bryan W.

A year after a rough-and-tumble campaign for Congress nearly grounded her political career, an upbeat Harriett M. Wieder said Friday that she will seek a fourth term on the County Board of Supervisors. After her unsuccessful bid to win the Republican primary in the 42nd Congressional District last spring, there was widespread speculation that the 61-year-old Wieder might retire from active politics when her term as supervisor ends next year. She entered the congressional race as the favorite but finished a distant second after her damaging admission that she had lied about receiving a college degree on various resumes over 25 years.

A year after a rough-and-tumble campaign for Congress nearly grounded her political career, an upbeat Harriett M. Wieder said Friday that she will seek a fourth term on the County Board of Supervisors. After her unsuccessful bid to win the Republican primary in the 42nd Congressional District last spring, there was widespread speculation that the 61-year-old Wieder might retire from active politics when her term as supervisor ends next year. She entered the congressional race as the favorite but finished a distant second after her damaging admission that she had lied about receiving a college degree on various resumes over 25 years.

For Democratic candidates, the 42nd Congressional District should be as inviting as the Sahara. Republicans hold a 53% to 36% edge in registration in the largely coastal district, which stretches south from Torrance to Huntington Beach. The incumbent, Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita), is sitting on $100,000 in campaign cash and faces no primary opponent. Despite the adverse conditions, three Democrats--James Cavuoto, Guy C. Kimbrough and Bryan W.

GOP congressional candidate Dana Rohrabacher is a man of many contrasts. The odds-on favorite to become the next congressman from the 42nd District, Rohrabacher says he is a conservative Republican, but he has a long history of sympathy for the Libertarian Party's causes of personal freedom and limited government.

Democratic congressional candidate Guy Kimbrough believes America can do better. The history and political science instructor from Huntington Beach calls it is "a disgrace" that homeless people walk the streets in front of $300,000 homes in Orange County and other parts of the 42nd Congressional District. He voices concern about the lack of national health insurance for millions of working Americans who do not have medical coverage. "That's not my idea of a safety net," he said.