DEMOCRAT HOPES TO UNSEAT MCKEON.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - In a congressional district that drips red, Robert Rodriguez is trying to harvest blue.

A former congressional aide and Democrat from Barstow, Rodriguez is running for California's 25th District congressional seat held by seven-term Republican incumbent Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon.

``My father raised me according to the values his parents came to America for - that's responsibility, freedom and an honest day's work,'' Rodriguez said in a phone interview last week. ``Today's politicians have forgotten what each of those means to today's Americans.

``Responsibility doesn't mean spending money and helping politically connected companies and leaving the bill to our kids.''

Rodriguez, who turns 29 this week, is running unopposed within his party - he and Libertarian Party candidate David Erickson will get a shot at McKeon on Nov. 7.

McKeon, 67, is a formidable opponent; he has won more than 60 percent of the vote in the last three elections for the House of Representatives seat while Democrats trailed with just over 30 percent.

The sprawling 25th District includes the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys in the west and Mono and Inyo counties to the east - a mix of suburbs, fast-growing exurbs, desert and woodlands - that have trended conservative. Of the 315,560 registered voters tallied in January by the California secretary of state, 44.97 percent were Republican compared to 34.14 percent Democrat.

But Rodriguez believes the influx of new residents inland - working- and middle-class families following affordable homes - may turn the tide in his favor.

``These people aren't necessarily Republicans,'' he said. ``There are a lot of moderate Republicans who are looking for true American leadership. Those are the people who I reach out to - people who are fed up with these policies that are extremist policies.''

Rodriguez was born in Apple Valley to a working-class family - his father is a retired Santa Fe Railroad machinist. His grandfather is a Mexican immigrant, and he is fluent in Spanish. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles, with a political science degree, and in 2002 completed a master's degree in public policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

In Washington, he worked on the staff of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Lakewood, then returned to California for a campaign to register Democrats for the 2004 state elections. In between campaigning this year, he works part-time as a high school teacher in Barstow.

``Working in D.C., I saw firsthand what my congressman was doing,'' Rodriguez said. ``I thought enough was enough. I can't just sit back and watch my country be given away. I've got to take my country back.''

``He has the best insider knowledge of what goes on in Washington, D.C., of any of the candidates we had running against McKeon,'' said Bruce McFarland, president of Democratic Alliance for Action, a Santa Clarita Democrat club. ``He's actually seen how things work. He's not someone throwing rocks from the outside.''

Rodriguez is running against an experienced insider.

Since being elected to Congress in 1992, McKeon has climbed through the GOP ranks to lead the House Committee on Education and the Workforce when former chair Rep. John Boehner of Ohio became House majority leader this year. The former Santa Clarita city councilman also serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

The conservative congressman supports the war in Iraq and agrees with most of the GOP's line on tax cuts and spending cuts - positions contrary to Democrats, Rodriguez said.

``That's where Buck falters,'' he said. ``Buck doesn't care what 40 percent of his constituents think. He just votes how Tom DeLay or John Boehner votes. We can send anybody to do that.''

McKeon also commands a war chest of $585,219, of which he has spent $344,605 during this election season, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Rodriguez said he has raised between $10,000 and $15,000.

``You compete against that with traditional grass-roots politics,'' he said. ``While he's out raising money, I'm here knocking on doors. I'm finding out what kind of problems they have.''

Rodriguez's key issue is what he sees as giveaways of tax breaks and tax dollars by the Bush White House and Republican-led Congress to benefit corporate interests at the expense of average Americans.

``Why aren't we looking at alternative fuels?'' he said. ``Our administration and our Congress are so connected to oil companies, they don't want to look at alternative fuels.

``We're giving money to Halliburton and Kellogg (Brown and Root),'' he said, referring to the energy firm and subsidiary with government contracts in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney was Halliburton's former chairman and chief executive officer.

``That money should've gone to our troops - our soldiers. They have families, too. We're not taking care of them. We're taking care of the companies that are well connected.''

McKeon spokesman Scott Wilk said the congressman has worked to steer government spending to local companies, which creates jobs. A 2006 defense appropriations bill includes $7.4 million in military contracts for three Santa Clarita companies and $13 million for various research programs at Edwards Air Force Base.

``Mr. McKeon has been very aggressive in securing defense contracts for the district,'' he said. ``Not only does it defend America ... it has created thousands of well-paying jobs out there.''

Rodriguez is skeptical the funds actually trickle down to those on the line.

``It does create jobs,'' he said. ``But all the money goes to these well-connected companies and their CEOs. How is that fair? ... The workers you're talking about - they don't see that money.''

On the war in Iraq, now in its third year, Rodriguez supports the gradual withdrawal of troops from a country on the edge of civil war.

``We need to set those timelines,'' he said. ``We have a lot of generals telling us the American presence is driving the insurgency.''

Wilk said McKeon would rather allow the military to make their own decisions.

``Announcing withdrawal schedules - all that does is embolden the terrorists and the insurgency,'' he said. ``We should've learned from World War II that capitulation and appeasement doesn't work.''

Rodriguez also is critical of the White House-led effort that created a prescription drug benefit for seniors under Medicare. The program, partly funded by the federal government, allows private companies to design and sell insurance plans offering prescription drug coverage.

``If a hard day's work is anything, it means the seniors' money should go to them, instead of going to big pharmaceutical companies to overpay CEOs,'' Rodriguez said.

``There are things we can do that are cost-effective,'' he said, such as direct price negotiations between the government and drug makers or permitting imported drugs from Canada.

The program, which began Jan. 1, had a problem-plagued launch that denied coverage to many seniors. But Wilk said the added benefit has pushed down drug costs for the elderly.

``The costs are lower because of competition,'' he said. ``If you're on a present program that's better, you can stay on it. If you have no benefits, it allows people to enroll. It gives people choice.''

Rodriguez said health care issues are a high priority - his sister battled kidney failure and lupus while living on Social Security benefits.

``I saw how important health care is for a family,'' he said.

``He's very sincere about making a difference,'' McFarland said. ``If voters are at all concerned how they're represented, they should meet him and talk to him and see what he's about.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

Robert Rodriguez, Democratic candidate for the 25th Congressional District, is slated to appear at the Democratic Alliance for Action meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Vincenzo's Pizza, 24504 Lyons Ave., Newhall. Call [phone] for more information.

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