Jim Rogan

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) said Sunday he will continue lobbying for a recently failed resolution that would have given official U.S. recognition to the Armenian Genocide. With Congress likely to adjourn this week, Rogan, who is in a tough reelection race against state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale), said he will ask House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) to bring the measure up during the next session. After President Clinton and others raised serious concerns about American national security interests and stability in the Middle East and Central Asia, Hastert on Thursday evening pulled the measure, minutes before it would have come up for a vote.

For months we have listened to Adam Schiff and his wealthy supporters from outside our congressional district blasting the "extremist" ideas of Jim Rogan. And all the while, Schiff helps push through some of the most radical legislation imaginable. The most recent assault on our freedoms is California Senate Bill 402. This bill, co-authored by Assemblyman Jack Scott, passed the Senate by just three votes and is now on Gov. Davis' desk. In a nutshell, it forces cities to submit to binding arbitration if their local police and fire unions refuse to reach agreement.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- One of the nation's most well-known gun control lobbies is targeting a local congressional candidate with its "Dangerous Dozen" list. Handgun Control, a nonprofit organization headed by Jim and Sarah Brady, this week placed Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) on its roster of legislators with "pro-gun" records. "Jim Rogan had a truly horrible record of voting against common sense gun laws in California and he's continued that in Congress," said Luis Tolley, the group's western regional director.

Recently, the House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill for the elimination of the marriage penalty, which is very important to all who believe that traditional marriage and strong families strengthen their communities. They also passed major estate-tax reform legislation to eliminate estate taxes for most individuals. We are burdened with approximately 30% of our income supporting direct taxes to the federal and state government and 20% into hidden excise taxes in the goods we purchase i.e., sales tax, gasoline tax, property tax, etc. About 50 cents of every dollar we earn goes to some form of tax. Lower taxes for individuals encourages more consumer savings, reduces credit debt and promotes investment in a stronger economy.

Irma Lemus and Judy Seckler PASADENA -- Calling a recent mailer by state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale) a cheap shot at his opponent, Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale), a group of Armenian residents protested outside of the Schiff's Pasadena office Thursday. Displaying a giant copy of the Sept. 4 letter, about a dozen Armenian community members said the campaign piece mailed to Glendale voters was misleading and warranted an apology. Schiff's letter criticized Rogan's support of legislation calling for official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

In his Aug. 26 letter ("Schiff or Rogan: Vote your conscience"), Chuck Sambar criticized "upstart political operatives" for their "divisiveness, personal attacks and threats of retaliation." He claims that such tactics caused Republicans to lose local Assembly and state Senate seats. If he so abhors "divisiveness, personal attacks and threats of retaliation" -- techniques that have been developed into an art form by Bill Clinton -- I am at a loss to understand why he would endorse the president's favorite congressional candidate.

AND THE DIVING BOARD GOES HERE Work has been underway since June on the Police Department's new headquarters on Isabel Street, but so far about the only visible sign is a rather large hole in the ground with beams stacked across it. When asked about how work on the building is going, a police official laughed and gestured toward the hole, saying the swimming pool is coming along nicely. The hole is actually for the building's basement. There are no plans for a swimming pool inside.

When I think about this I get so mad I have to say something. Jim Rogan told the Republican Convention "My hero is my mother, Alice...who raised four children on welfare and food stamps." The crowd cheered him. At the same time, at the very same time, he was mailing out a letter to thousands of constituents saying, "I was the illegitimate son of a bartender and a cocktail waitress. My father abandoned my mother before I was born; my mother later was convicted of welfare fraud as she tried to raise four children as a single mother."

I have had some of my thoughts printed recently in this paper. I am on my own and not at the behest of others. I know Jim Rogan, and I know him to be a truly honorable man. Now, I am receiving phone calls maligning Rogan and accusing him of being a liar. No specifics are given. No lies are quoted. I have never met Adam Schiff, but I heard someone say, "He's a nice guy, but his political beliefs are wrong." I cannot argue against him personally, but I can tell you that if he is an honest man, he has chosen some strange bedfellows.