Campaign Manager

Regarding the July 12 letter, "Voters don't care about apologies," asserting that voters don't care about "stupid quarrels between political leaders," namely Congressman James Rogan and Muslim community leader Salam Al Marayati. In fact, Congressman Rogan should have immediately repudiated the bigoted and inflammatory remarks of his campaign manager directed against a well-respected and longtime leader of Southern California's Muslim community. Rogan instead defended his campaign manager who sought to ignite the flames of religious divisions and suspicions for his own partisan political gain.

Claudia Peschiutta LA CRESCENTA -- It's a question candidates for the 44th Assembly District seat were calling into question on Wednesday. Republican Susan Carpenter McMillan denounced the polling tactics of her Democratic opponent, Carol Liu, accusing her of asking voters if they would support a candidate whose campaign manager was a convicted felon. "They wanted to find out what kind of negative things they could say about me in case we did a last-minute attack," Carpenter McMillan said.

Tim Rosales' double-barreled diatribe ("Community deserves better than Will Rogers," Nov. 16) on James Rogan's political demise was a valuable lesson on the double standard. Rosales asserts that Rogers engages in "cheap and classless swipes" at Rogan and his campaign manager. He rails against his "distortions of the truth" and "self-serving intentions." Rosales, I wish I had saved half of the hundreds of mailers your campaign staff sent me over the past many months.

As an Arab-American I am outraged at the comments made by Republican James Rogan and his spokesman Jason Roe regarding a local Muslim leader. Will Congressman Jim Rogan stop at nothing to get reelected? Not content enough to broadcast a series of misleading television ads that grossly distort his opponent's record, Rogan's campaign has now resorted to smearing the reputation of respected community leaders and playing on ethnic stereotypes of Muslims as terrorists.

Rep. Howard Berman, locked in a contentious race  with fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Shermanfor the same San Fernando Valley congressional district seat, isn't  on hand for the president's State of Union  speech tonight.   His staff says he's right here in L.A.,  mixing work with a little campaigning. While many members of Congress from both sides of the aisle  attend the annual speech and often comment  on it afterward, that's never been Berman's style, said Gene Smith, who retired from Berman's House staff  and took on a new role as his campaign manager.

In recent months, there have been public meetings and marches to promote better relations among the different cultural groups in Glendale. It is painful to think about the actions done by teenagers that have triggered these meetings and marches. It is absolutely disgraceful that the latest problem of racial tension in our community was not done by teenagers but by our current representative in Congress, James Rogan. ("Comments by Rogan aide anger Muslims," June 22)

Robert Shaffer GLENDALE -- Campaign finance reports due at the end of January will show Glendale's U.S. Representative and his challenger have raised more than $3.5 million for their campaigns, more than 10 months before the election. According to their campaigns, Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) has raised between $2.5 million and $2.8 million for his second reelection campaign. His challenger, state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale), has raised more than $1.1 million.

Jackson Bell A Glendale City Council hopeful is back on the campaign trail after shattering a bone in his arm in a car crash and undergoing surgery last week. Vrej Agajanian, one of 18 candidates vying for a spot on the council dais, was back to campaigning and hosting his Armenian-language television show after spending four days in and out of local hospitals. "I just missed a few days, and hopefully I can make up for it," Agajanian, 53, said.

Sunder Ramani failed to properly file fundraising reports earlier this year during his campaign for the 43rd Assembly District, but the state Fair Political Practices Commission did not issue a fine after concluding his campaign manager was unaware of the rules. In a letter to Ramani and campaign manager Pamela Corradi, the commission's enforcement division chief, Gary Winuk, wrote that they did not file 33 electronic reports of contributions of $1,000 or more electronically within the required 24 hours.

Rep. Howard Berman, locked in a contentious race  with fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Shermanfor the same San Fernando Valley congressional district seat, isn't  on hand for the president's State of Union  speech tonight.   His staff says he's right here in L.A.,  mixing work with a little campaigning. While many members of Congress from both sides of the aisle  attend the annual speech and often comment  on it afterward, that's never been Berman's style, said Gene Smith, who retired from Berman's House staff  and took on a new role as his campaign manager.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is suing her former treasurer and her campaign's bank for fraud and breach of contract, alleging that the bank was complicit in a massive fraud case that has rocked the political world. The suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday against First California Bank, Feinstein's former treasurer Kinde Durkee and her company, Durkee & Associates. Durkee was arrested Sept. 2 on a federal fraud charge after allegedly embezzling possibly millions of dollars from her clients, who include Feinstein and many other prominent California Democrats.

Sunder Ramani failed to properly file fundraising reports earlier this year during his campaign for the 43rd Assembly District, but the state Fair Political Practices Commission did not issue a fine after concluding his campaign manager was unaware of the rules. In a letter to Ramani and campaign manager Pamela Corradi, the commission's enforcement division chief, Gary Winuk, wrote that they did not file 33 electronic reports of contributions of $1,000 or more electronically within the required 24 hours.

When Rostom Sarkissian landed in Glendale last week after an 11-day stint in Las Vegas, he was sick and exhausted. On Wednesday, he lost his job. The 18-hour days he spent in Sin City allowed for little beauty rest. But unlike the scores of gamblers and rabble-rousers who flock to the city looking for the elusive, easy buck, Sarkissian saw little casino time. Instead he spent most of his waking hours camped out in an office on the telephone, trying to persuade hundreds of strangers on the other end of the line to vote for presidential hopeful John Edwards.

With the special primary in the 48th Congressional District just four weeks away, wrangling a location and date for a candidates' forum and rounding up the 17 candidates running for the seat is no small feat. But at least five organizations have set up forums. Starting next week, candidates will be invited to explain their positions to voters on topics such as imported prescription drugs and the federal tax code. "I think it helps to get a sense of what the community is actually concerned and talking about," said James Vaughn, campaign manager for former Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer.

Jackson Bell A Glendale City Council hopeful is back on the campaign trail after shattering a bone in his arm in a car crash and undergoing surgery last week. Vrej Agajanian, one of 18 candidates vying for a spot on the council dais, was back to campaigning and hosting his Armenian-language television show after spending four days in and out of local hospitals. "I just missed a few days, and hopefully I can make up for it," Agajanian, 53, said.

Jason C. Roe With Jim Rogan now out of elective office, spending time with his wife and twin daughters 3,000 miles away and about to join President Bush's administration, Will Rogers must be going through depression. I once naively thought his ranting hatred for Jim Rogan was due to political differences. Now I see it for what it is -- envy. Here was Rogan by age 40: L.A. County gang murder prosecutor; named one of the most effective DA's in California; youngest state court judge in California; elected presiding judge of the court; member of the state legislature; named No. 1 in integrity and effectiveness as Glendale's assemblyman; elected majority leader of the Assembly in his freshman term; member of Congress; prosecuted the first impeachment of a president in 130 years.

Will Rogers It had nothing to do with impeachment. I believe Rep. Jim Rogan knows that, as do his pollsters, his campaign staff and his congressional staff. If they don't, there's no better example of self delusion. Rogan claiming his role in impeachment explains his defeat is yet another symptom of why he lost, not the diagnosis. Impeachment generated outside interest in our local race, and most local voters opposed it. But one poll after another also found voters wouldn't premise their votes on impeachment, even back when the wound was fresher.

Claudia Peschiutta LA CRESCENTA -- It's a question candidates for the 44th Assembly District seat were calling into question on Wednesday. Republican Susan Carpenter McMillan denounced the polling tactics of her Democratic opponent, Carol Liu, accusing her of asking voters if they would support a candidate whose campaign manager was a convicted felon. "They wanted to find out what kind of negative things they could say about me in case we did a last-minute attack," Carpenter McMillan said.