CHANGING CONGRESS DISTRICTS SEVER TIES CANDIDATES MUST MAKE NEW FRIENDS.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - Woodland Hills Democrat Brad Sherman's days are numbered as Malibu's man on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, will soon be stumping in Death Valley while Congressman Elton Gallegly, R-Oxnard, noshes on Danishes with voters in Solvang.

Voters, lobbyists and even House incumbents face confusing comings and goings this year as lawmakers attempt to represent their current constituents while seeking re-election in new, reapportioned districts.

``It's a real challenge,'' said veteran Washington lobbyist Del Smith. ``The questions most of my clients have are, Who is our congressman, and who is going to be our congressman?''

In the High Desert, Smith is concentrating his lobbying efforts on McKeon, whose new far-flung 25th District, still based in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, includes Victorville, as well as Barstow, Death Valley and all of Inyo and Mono counties.

Barstow and Victorville are currently represented by Rep. Jerry Lewis, R- Redlands.

Gallegly, who will cede Oxnard and half of the Ventura County's naval base to Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, will gain all of inland Santa Barbara County, including Solvang and Vandenberg Air Force Base, in his new 24th District.

``My office is in Oxnard, where we get most of our requests for service, and it will stay here as long as I represent the city,'' said Gallegly, whose new district still includes most of Ventura County. ``And, even though the district has changed, 84 percent of its residents are people I have already represented.

``The key to campaigning this year is to make voters aware that you have a proven record of representing the people well,'' added Gallegly, who is seeking his ninth term this year.

He said his new district is much more governable than the fractured area he represented prior to the 1991 reapportionment. His old 21st District was based in Ventura County, but also swept in Sunland, Tujunga, Northridge, Granada Hills, Santa Clarita, Gorman and Santa Catalina Island.

Reapportionment means making a lot of new friends for Sherman. His new, horseshoe-shaped 27th District includes only one-third of the voters he has represented during three terms in office.

Sherman said that his regional approach to lawmaking offsets the shift in geography. ``You can't represent Sherman Oaks and not know what's going on in North Hollywood.''

Sherman, who will lose his current Ventura County turf to Gallegly and his Malibu constituency to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, said he plans to keep working for water and conservation projects in his current district and to keep the Ventura County naval base, which employs many Valley residents, from being caught up in the Pentagon's planned 2005 round of base closings.

Gallegly, who led the fight to keep the base open during the 1990s, said he plans a similar effort to keep Vandenberg and its thousands of well-paying jobs off the Pentagon's chopping block.

``Your average citizen on the street doesn't know or care about redistricting, but the process can have a negative impact on involvement in the political process,'' said Leland Saito, a reapportionment expert and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California.

``The activists who do follow it see it as a political process involving incumbents. And their first concern is re-election.''

Baldassare predicted that the end result of this year's remap will be lower voter turnouts in March and November.

``The process didn't create conflict or confrontation, which can raise voter interest, he said. ``It merely protected the status quo.''

Th reapportionment held last year - and still subject to the outcome of a legal challenge by the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Foundation - was triggered by California's population gains in the 2000 Census and the addition of a 53rd House seat for the state. It was conducted by the Democrat-controlled Assembly and state Senate.

--For links to maps of current and reapportioned congressional districts, log onto the California Voter Foundatons Internet website at www.calvoter.org/maps/index.html