ACTIVIST COMES IN FROM THE COLD WESTLAKE WOMAN GOING TO THE DNC.

Byline: David Greenberg  Staff Writer

Evi Kritt knew the time was right to run as a 24th Congressional District delegate to the Democratic National Convention when more seasoned political activists predicted her defeat.

``Everybody told me, don't even try, that only residents of the San Fernando Valley get elected,'' said Kritt, who in 1998 left a 17-year career as a corporate attorney for a less burdensome private practice. ``As soon as I heard that, I said, it's a challenge. I'm going to take this challenge.''

On Monday, a lifelong passion for politics that had for so long remained on the corporate back burner will be realized when Kritt joins eight other delegates and alternates from the 23rd and 24th congressional districts.

``I was on the outside looking in,'' said Kritt of her years watching national conventions on television. ``It always looked so exciting and interesting to be right there.

``I said I want to go there. Now I get to be one of those insiders. It's a dream come true for me.''

Joining Kritt will be Marilyn and Leo Valenzuela of Oxnard; Bill Gallaher of Ventura; Sharon Hillbrant of Camarillo; Adele Rosenbluth of Port Hueneme; and Hank Lacayo of Newbury Park - all of whom were elected delegates at Democratic caucuses in January.

Larry Miller of Camarillo and Jesse Gabriel of Oak Park were selected as alternates.

Rosenbluth initially supported Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley in January because she believed that the New Jersey senator had a better plan for implementing his policies.

``But I can support Al Gore,'' said Rosenbluth, whose husband, Murray, is mayor of Port Hueneme. ``He has the issues of the Democratic Party. They are the issues of the people: health care, gun control, good education, the saving of Social Security and a woman's right to choose (an abortion).''

The Bradley delegation will convene Monday morning, when Rosenbluth speculated that he will advise supporters to throw their votes behind Gore, whom he has already endorsed.

Although Rosenbluth, 67, is a first-time delegate, she attended the 1972 convention in Miami in support of Democratic candidate Sen. George McGovern and took part in the massive anti-war demonstration in Chicago in 1968.

She said the protesting masses scheduled to swarm the streets of downtown Los Angeles will not remind her of the Chicago chaos in 1968 as long as the police do not launch another offensive baton-and-tear-gas assault.

``I think the fever of the anti-war movement at that time was truly a national issue,'' Rosenbluth said. ``In Los Angeles, there are a number of protesting groups. There are different issues. Each group is going to do their own thing. We don't have the same fever today.''

Besides her on-the-floor duties, Kritt said she hopes to absorb some of the strategies used to entice nonvoters to register, cast absentee ballots and to persuade the fence sitters to fall onto the Democratic wagon.

``You listen and learn a lot,'' she said. ``I'm looking for stuff that I can bring back and share with my clubs and the Assembly district. We really need to learn more about the candidates and what they stand for specifically. I have to be honest, I don't know much about (Joseph) Lieberman.''

Although Miller, a 61-year-old Moorpark College biology professor, has also never been to a convention before, he believes he has his role as an alternate nailed down.

``Our job is to applaud when it's time to applaud, cheer when it's time to cheer and vote when it's time to vote,'' he said. ``I'm kind of like the sixth player on a basketball team. If the delegate needs to take a break, is not feeling well or has other business, they find an alternative and exchange credentials. Then I would just go down and join the California delegation.''

With the added stress of protesters making it more difficult to get to and from their hotels, workshops and the Staples Center, Miller said he expects to be called upon as a replacement, possibly for an elderly delegate.

That will give him a chance to vote against a Democratic party platform he said supports the death penalty in some cases and does not put enough emphasis on universal health care.

``I don't think the Democratic Party is liberal enough anymore,'' Miller said. ``I don't like this centralist stuff. Calling yourself a progressive Democrat is a euphemism to avoid saying you're a liberal. I'm proud of being a liberal.''

Kritt and Rosenbluth said they will support the platform, which is strong on women's issues, such as abortion rights. Miller said he will not be stuffing his suitcase with Gore-Lieberman paraphernalia because he was expecting the American Federation of Teachers to smother him with it when the organization met Saturday.

His major concern will the wear-and-tear on his wallet, as a week's worth of hotel bills and other expenses is expected to reach up to $2,000.

``I got so involved in getting the number of votes you need to get elected a delegate, I wasn't even thinking about the cost of the damn thing,'' Miller said.

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(color -- ran in Conejo edition only) Evi Kritt will be a delegate from the 24th Congressional District to this week's Democratic National Convention.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News