SOUTHLAND LEGISLATORS AGREE ON NEED FOR UNITY.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Southern California congressmen - both Democrats and Republicans - expressed hope Wednesday that they can put aside the rancor of the nation's most bitterly fought presidential race and work together in a bipartisan manner.

``We need to stop and take a deep breath,'' said Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita. ``A very long political year is now behind us. It would be really nice to spend the next year or more governing before we get back to politics.''

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills, called for bipartisan cooperation, stressing that voters presented Washington with a very mixed mandate.

``Many voters embraced George W. Bush as a person and as a potential leader. He appeared to be the more engaging candidate,'' said Sherman. ``But Al Gore received more votes overall. That fact strongly indicates that the American people want a continuation of the policies that have resulted in record economic expansion.''

Sherman urged Bush to ``practice real bipartisanship by working with the mainstream of the Democratic Party on compromises that make sense.''

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, chairman of California's Republican congressional delegation, said Bush would be equal to the task.

``The willingness of President-elect Bush to work with all legislators (in Texas), and his proven ability to bring people together to accomplish common goals, are exactly what is needed to end the partisan stalemate in Washington,'' Lewis said.

``Republicans, led by President-elect Bush, are ready and willing to work with the Democrats on the important issues facing the nation, like education, health care and tax fairness,'' said Rep. David Dreier, R-Covina, who co-chaired Bush's California campaign. ``Now is the time for Democrats to join us and pull together for the good of the country.''

For California's 52-member House delegation, the George W. Bush era began on a bipartisan note Wednesday. Members from both sides of the aisle gathered in Los Angeles for the funeral of Rep. Julian Dixon, D-Los Angeles, who died Friday at age 66.

Lewis and Dreier were among the GOP lawmakers who joined with Democrats to mourn Dixon. Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, and many other Democrats attending the funeral declined comment on the presidential outcome, explaining that they wanted to devote the day to tributes to Dixon.

McKeon said Bush could go a long way toward putting Washington back on task by achieving early passage of a major boost for public education. He suggested a proposed $500 million reading improvement and intervention program for the nation's third-graders.

``Public education has really faltered and we need to give it assistance,'' McKeon said.

Sherman also had some startup advice for Bush. ``First, he should pull the plug on independent counsel investigations and prosecutions of President Clinton,'' Sherman said. ``Those old controversies have to be dropped for us to truly move on.''