Battle of the Endorsements rages in Berman-Sherman district race

Susan Shelley, one of three Republicans in an election battle dominated by Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman, scored a big-name endorsement recently -- that of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.

“We believe you will be an excellent representative for taxpayers,”  Jarvis leader Kris Vosburgh wrote in a letter informing Shelley  of backing by the group’s political action committee.

The association is  named after the late leader of the “taxpayers revolt” that resulted in voters’ approving the property levy-slashing Proposition 13 in 1978, and its endorsement is often coveted by candidates describing themselves as fiscally conservative.

Shelley, an author and blogger making her first bid for elected office, says she is  a social moderate but a fiscal conservative, according to The Times.

Shelley also recently released a new, free ebook, “Uncle Sam’s Nickel: The Five Percent Flat Tax That Will Restore Freedom and Prosperity.” 

Most of the attention in the race for the newly drawn 30th Congressional District in the San Fernando Valley has gone to the better known -- and much better financed -- Sherman and Berman.

Rep. Howard Berman certainly felt the love of some key  local law enforcement leaders Thursday when several of them sang his praises — and gave their endorsements to his efforts to win reelection  against another seasoned Democratic congressman.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, the county’s most prominent Republican elected official, joined leaders of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Assn., the Los Angeles Police Protective League and others at a downtown news conference.   Introduced by longtime Berman ally Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, they took turns ticking off Berman’s accomplishments and his credentials as a longtime “friend of law enforcement."

“This is a guy who not only gets it but then he gets it done,” enthused Culver City Police Chief Don Pedersen, who also leads the 45- member county chiefs organization, which has endorsed Berman over  Rep. Brad Sherman,  Berman’s main competition for a  newly drawn San Fernando Valley congressional district seat.

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-- Jean Merl, Times Community News