Rep Anthony Beilenson

We wish to congratulate you on your editorial--a timely, positive approach to the economics of our time. However, we do have reservations. We look at the economics of oil and transportation from the viewpoint of the competition between automobiles and public transit for commuter patronage. At present the playing field is gravely tilted in favor of automobiles. The 24 cents per gallon of Rep. Anthony Beilenson's (D-Los Angeles) proposal is just about enough to reimburse our cities for the huge shortfall in their cost vs. income account with the motorist.

I strongly suggest that Marc Litchman have third thoughts about conventional wisdom. His piece "Second Thoughts About Conventional Wisdom" (Valley Commentary, Sept. 11) shows little of what one might expect of a political consultant and a lot of what would come from someone on Rep. Anthony Beilenson's staff. He needs to go beyond his "second thoughts" in these areas: The race in the 24th Congressional District is not about the relative numbers of Republicans and Democrats.

A veteran Democratic congressman announced Thursday that he will run in a proposed new congressional district that lumps Thousand Oaks with southwestern portions of Los Angeles County, giving Democrats a strong contender in the tossup district. Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) said he decided to run in the proposed 24th Congressional District to avoid a costly primary battle with powerful Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) in Los Angeles' Westside.

With Congress poised to recess for the rest of the year, retiring Reps. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) and Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale) have begun the humbling transformation from congressman to regular guy. "Everybody who works in Congress or serves in Congress knows this day comes," said David Joergenson, a longtime Moorhead aide who is hustling for a new job himself. "It comes sooner for some, later for others.

People have been out to get U.S. Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) for 18 years. It's not only the candidates who have run against him since 1976. It's even other elected officials who have twice tried to reapportion him back to his private law practice. Each time, Beilenson has beaten back the challenges to hold on to his seat while the pundits were writing his political obituary.

The Westside and San Fernando Valley congressional district of Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson is generally liberal, Jewish, and Democratic--tough turf if you're a Republican challenger. But those political facts of life did not deter the district's most prominent Republican, a fellow from Bel-Air named Ronald Reagan, from venturing back into the political arena on behalf of GOP congressional candidate Jim Salomon.

Republican congressional candidate Jim Salomon of Beverly Hills appears well positioned for at least a victory of sorts Nov. 6: He could be one of the few challengers nationwide to outspend an incumbent lawmaker. That may be small consolation, however. His opponent, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles), remains heavily favored to retain the 23rd Congressional District seat he has held since 1977. And the veteran lawmaker's followers insist that Salomon's dollars haven't made a dent.

If federal elections records are any indication, this year's race to fill Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson's seat in Congress could turn out to be one of the most expensive in the nation. Brad Sherman, a Democrat who is seeking to represent the 24th Congressional District--which stretches from Thousand Oaks to Sherman Oaks and Malibu--ranked among the nation's top campaign self-financers by infusing $275,000 into his coffers.

Republican congressional challenger Richard Sybert got a helping hand from GOP heavyweights Jack Kemp and William Bennett on Wednesday at a fund-raiser that grossed $75,000 for Sybert's campaign against Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills).