Gerrie Schipske

Former Rep. Jane Harman is the polished Washington insider with the star power to merit some podium time at the Democratic National Convention this week and the connections to get 22 district high school students signed on as ushers. Gerrie Schipske is the Long Beach nurse-practitioner and health care attorney working hard to persuade Democratic congressional leaders that she has what it takes to oust a well-established incumbent this fall.

A mysterious phone call. Threats of demonstrators. A potential security breach. Those were the reasons Democratic congressional candidate Gerrie Schipske gave to explain why California First Lady Sharon Davis canceled an appearance at Schipske's Sunday afternoon campaign event in Huntington Beach. But there were no pickets outside the event at the Chimayo at the Beach restaurant. And the first lady's staff said they knew nothing about any potential security breach--or mysterious phone calls.

Call it Florida West. While the world focuses on the Sunshine State to learn whether George W. Bush or Al Gore will occupy the White House, two candidates from Long Beach are waiting out ballot counts closer to home. Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Horn was clinging to a narrow lead this week in the strongly Democratic 38th Congressional District, updated Los Angeles County election results showed.

Democratic candidate Gerrie Schipske said Wednesday she would not contest election results showing that Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Horn had defeated her in the race for the 38th Congressional District. The lawyer and nurse-practitioner said she will run again for Congress in 2002 but is waiting to see the effect of reapportionment on local district boundaries next year.

Democratic candidate Gerrie Schipske said Wednesday she would not contest election results showing that Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Horn had defeated her in the race for the 38th Congressional District. The lawyer and nurse-practitioner said she will run again for Congress in 2002 but is waiting to see the effect of reapportionment on local district boundaries next year.

Although the Disney Development Co. has chosen not to proceed with DisneySea in Long Beach (Times, Dec. 13), I do hope that the "movers and shakers" in this city will not focus too long on the negative aspects of this decision. Rather, what needs to happen is a refocusing on the many other possibilities for our city--a city that has the need and the potential to revitalize not only its downtown and shoreline areas, but its east and west sides, central and northern boundaries. As vice chair of the Disney Citizens Advisory Committee, I would hope that the mayor and City Council, which appointed this 55-member committee, would not simply disband this group.

A mysterious phone call. Threats of demonstrators. A potential security breach. Those were the reasons Democratic congressional candidate Gerrie Schipske gave to explain why California First Lady Sharon Davis canceled an appearance at Schipske's Sunday afternoon campaign event in Huntington Beach. But there were no pickets outside the event at the Chimayo at the Beach restaurant. And the first lady's staff said they knew nothing about any potential security breach--or mysterious phone calls.

Tabulations of the first wave of uncounted ballots in two area races for the U.S. House of Representatives slightly widened the victors' margins Friday, election officials said. In the South Bay's 36th District, Democrat Jane Harman picked up 2,129 votes, while Rep. Steven T. Kuykendall (R-Rancho Palos Verdes) got 2,042. Friday's update put the total vote to date at 109,104, or 48.4%, for Harman and 105,184, or 46.7%, for Kuykendall. In the neighboring 38th District, Rep.

Led by combatants in the super-costly battle for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area's 27th Congressional District, candidates in Southern California's hottest House of Representatives races continue to amass large sums, the latest federal records showed Monday. Together, Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale) and his main challenger, state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), have raised $9.

When the vote counting begins Tuesday in the nation's 435 House of Representatives races, political leaders and independent analysts will focus mainly on the handful of races that are truly competitive and will determine which party controls the House. Several of those 30 to 40 key races are in California, and two are in Greater Los Angeles--the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area's ultra-expensive 27th District battle and the South Bay's 36th District contest.

Call it Florida West. While the world focuses on the Sunshine State to learn whether George W. Bush or Al Gore will occupy the White House, two candidates from Long Beach are waiting out ballot counts closer to home. Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Horn was clinging to a narrow lead this week in the strongly Democratic 38th Congressional District, updated Los Angeles County election results showed.

Tabulations of the first wave of uncounted ballots in two area races for the U.S. House of Representatives slightly widened the victors' margins Friday, election officials said. In the South Bay's 36th District, Democrat Jane Harman picked up 2,129 votes, while Rep. Steven T. Kuykendall (R-Rancho Palos Verdes) got 2,042. Friday's update put the total vote to date at 109,104, or 48.4%, for Harman and 105,184, or 46.7%, for Kuykendall. In the neighboring 38th District, Rep.

When the vote counting begins Tuesday in the nation's 435 House of Representatives races, political leaders and independent analysts will focus mainly on the handful of races that are truly competitive and will determine which party controls the House. Several of those 30 to 40 key races are in California, and two are in Greater Los Angeles--the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area's ultra-expensive 27th District battle and the South Bay's 36th District contest.

Stretching from the bustling ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles through the middle- and working-class suburbs of Lakewood, Paramount, Bellflower and Downey, the 38th Congressional District is one that Democrats long thought should be theirs. Democrats had expected to take the newly drawn seat in 1992, when they held a nearly 10-point registration edge over Republicans.

Led by combatants in the super-costly battle for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area's 27th Congressional District, candidates in Southern California's hottest House of Representatives races continue to amass large sums, the latest federal records showed Monday. Together, Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale) and his main challenger, state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), have raised $9.

Former Rep. Jane Harman is the polished Washington insider with the star power to merit some podium time at the Democratic National Convention this week and the connections to get 22 district high school students signed on as ushers. Gerrie Schipske is the Long Beach nurse-practitioner and health care attorney working hard to persuade Democratic congressional leaders that she has what it takes to oust a well-established incumbent this fall.

The date that looms most urgently for Gerrie Schipske, the Democrat who is trying to unseat Rep. Steve Horn (R-Long Beach) is not Nov. 7, the day of the general election. It's June 30. That's the close of the current campaign finance reporting period, and Schipske strategists figure that the Long Beach nurse practitioner and attorney needs to reach mid-race fund-raising goals by then to demonstrate her candidacy's viability to national Democratic leaders.

Stretching from the bustling ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles through the middle- and working-class suburbs of Lakewood, Paramount, Bellflower and Downey, the 38th Congressional District is one that Democrats long thought should be theirs. Democrats had expected to take the newly drawn seat in 1992, when they held a nearly 10-point registration edge over Republicans.

The date that looms most urgently for Gerrie Schipske, the Democrat who is trying to unseat Rep. Steve Horn (R-Long Beach) is not Nov. 7, the day of the general election. It's June 30. That's the close of the current campaign finance reporting period, and Schipske strategists figure that the Long Beach nurse practitioner and attorney needs to reach mid-race fund-raising goals by then to demonstrate her candidacy's viability to national Democratic leaders.

Although the Disney Development Co. has chosen not to proceed with DisneySea in Long Beach (Times, Dec. 13), I do hope that the "movers and shakers" in this city will not focus too long on the negative aspects of this decision. Rather, what needs to happen is a refocusing on the many other possibilities for our city--a city that has the need and the potential to revitalize not only its downtown and shoreline areas, but its east and west sides, central and northern boundaries. As vice chair of the Disney Citizens Advisory Committee, I would hope that the mayor and City Council, which appointed this 55-member committee, would not simply disband this group.