Berman goes negative on Sherman with new website

Rep. Howard Berman's campaign threw a sharp punch at the Democratic congressman's rival with the launch Tuesday of BradShermanfacts.com.

The two veteran Democrats are vying for the same San Fernando Valley district seat this fall in one of the most expensive, widely watched -- and increasingly contentious -- House races in the nation.

Berman, of Valley Village, has seen some major changes to his campaign since finishing 10 percentage points behind Brad Sherman, of Sherman Oaks, in the June 5 primary. 

Berman's brother and longtime political consultant, Michael Berman, has stepped down from overseeing strategy, although he still is involved in the campaign. Brandon Hall, who shared campaign oversight with Michael Berman during the primary, recently has taken the reins, Hall has confirmed.

The website, which the Berman campaign plans to update every Monday, adds a sharply negative tone to its strategy. Its first installment, for example, claims that Sherman has been able to pass just three pieces of legislation during his 15 years in the House. It also features an internal memo in which Sherman talks about his "standing policy" to have his staff look for opportunities for him to co-sponsor bills once they have passed out of a committee with significant Democratic support or on a voice vote.

Sherman's campaign acknowledged the memo is authentic but Parke Skelton, Sherman's chief strategist, said he fails to see what's bad about it.

"The Berman campaign has somehow obtained an unknown number of internal documents from Congressman Sherman's office," Skelton said, "and they release one which states that Congressman Sherman wants his staff to continue a long-standing policy of identifying good bipartisan legislation  that he can assess and decide whether to co-sponsor and work to pass on the floor. That's the best hit they can find?"

Hall said the memo instead shows Sherman "just wants to sign onto bills that are already moving -- regardless of policy."

Noting the Berman campaign also criticizes Sherman for co-sponsoring measures to rename post offices, Skelton said Berman also has co-sponsored such bills, which require support from every member of Congress from the state in which the post office sits. He implied the website indicates Berman "must be getting pretty desperate."

During the primary, the Berman campaign stayed mainly positive while the Sherman campaign sent out mail to voters criticizing Berman's attendance record and many taxpayer-funded trips abroad. (Berman is the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.)

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Photo: Reps. Howard Berman, left, and Brad Sherman shake hands following a candidates forum in January.  Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

 

Howard Berman outraises Brad Sherman but still lags in cash on hand

The weekend brought good news and bad for Rep. Howard Berman, who is gripped in a tough race against fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for a San Fernando Valley congressional seat.

The latest campaign finance reports showed Berman has outpaced Sherman in fundraising since the 2012 election cycle began. Berman added some $500,000 to his coffers during the latest reporting period, bringing the total raised to almost $3.5 million. Sherman has reported collecting more than $2.7 million altogether. But, because he had stockpiled funds raised earlier and lent himself $700,000, Sherman has much more money in the bank—more than $3 million, compared with Berman’s $447,000—as the competitors move into the final months before the Nov. 6 election.

The so-called "super-PAC” supporting Berman, the Committee to Elect and Effective Valley Congressman, reported it was down to $7,800 cash on hand and was nearly $48,000 in debt. The group, which is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts from donors so long as it does not coordinate its efforts with the candidate’s campaign, spent nearly $600,000 to support Berman during the primary.

Also Sunday, the Berman campaign fell just short of getting the 60% of delegates needed to win an official endorsement from the California Democratic Party. The 58.5%,  compared with Sherman’s 23.4%, certainly gives Berman bragging rights—Berman on Monday called the margin “a clear sign of our campaign’s momentum.” But it wasn’t enough to win him the money, campaign volunteers and other help an official endorsement could have brought.

Berman earlier had lined up backing from most of California’s top Democratic elected officials, including Gov. Jerry Brown and both the state’s U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer.

Sherman’s campaign, which had worked hard to deny Berman the state party endorsement, emphasized its 10-point margin over Berman in the June 5 primary and its considerable financial advantage.

“We feel very confident about our situation,” Sherman strategist Parke Skelton said in a statement issued Monday.

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Photo: Reps. Howard Berman, left, and Brad Sherman during their first candidates' debate in January. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times

 

 

Berman, Sherman clash continues to fall election

Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman handily outdistanced their five little-known, underfinanced challengers in Tuesday's primary, ensuring that the high-spending, nationally watched showdown between two liberal Democratic congressmen will continue through the November general election.

With more than half the precincts reporting, Sherman, of Sherman Oaks, and Berman, of Valley Village, finished first and second, respectively, giving them both a place on the fall ballot under the state's new "top two" primary system as they battle to represent the San Fernando Valley's 30th Congressional District.

The contest, sparked when an independent citizens commission last summer drew new political maps that placed the congressmen's homes in the same district, has split the Democratic Party and prompted hand-wringing from those who liked both men and don't want to see either leave Congress.

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Sherman has emphasized his local visibility and service to constituents while attacking Berman as a globe-trotting elitist who spent taxpayer money on junkets. Berman drew support from most of the state's political stars, including Gov. Jerry Brown, and courted Republican and independent voters.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, 48% to 26%, with 21% of voters unaffiliated.

Also on the ballot were one other Democrat, three Republicans and a member of the Green Party.

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Photo: The race between Howard Berman, left, and Brad Sherman for a newly redrawn Valley district will continue through the November general election. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Berman, Sherman duke it out in San Fernando Valley

Rep. Brad Sherman jumped to an early lead over fellow Democratic Rep. Howard Berman when many of the absentee ballot results were posted shortly after the polls closed Tuesday.

Sherman led Berman 39.3%-34.2%, with only about 1,200 votes separating them; the five other candidates trailed far behind. Republican Mark Reed was in third place, with 12.7%.

The two seasoned liberals are waging a high-cost, nationally watched contest for the same San Fernando Valley congressional seat.

LIVE RESULTS: California primary

If both men finish in the top two, as expected, their battle will continue to the Nov. 6 general election under the state's new election system, which abolished party primaries for congressional, state Senate and state Assembly races.

The other candidates on the ballot were Republicans Mark Reed, Susan Shelley and Navraj Singh; Democrat Vince Gilmore; and Green Party member Michael W. Powelson.

Berman, 71, started gearing up for the race later than Sherman, 56, whose current district overlaps more than half of the new one, making the younger congressman familiar to more voters. But Berman spent more money on political mail and cable TV ads and tried to appeal to Republican voters as well as Democrats and nonpartisans. 

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Photo: Brad Sherman, left, and Howard Berman at a candidates debate this year. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Voters torn in battle between Berman-Sherman

The hotly contested and expensive San Fernando Valley race between incumbent Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Brad Sherman has locals so torn over whom to vote for that one resident called the whole situation “a shame.”

Redistricting has forced the two popular congressmen to compete in a new district that incorporates pieces of their existing districts, and the pair have attracted millions of dollars in support of their candidacies.

The two veterans have worked to distinguish themselves from one another since both men have spent much of their adult lives in elected office and hold similar views on many national and world issues.

That left residents contemplative at the polls Tuesday. Many said they liked both candidates and had to make a tough choice.

Jerry Goodman, 53, is a small business owner and longtime resident of Woodland Hills. He has never missed an election, and his whole family closely follows politics, he said. He added that he and his family thoroughly discussed the ballot beforehand, and though he likes both candidates, he said he voted for Berman.

'I think first off, it's unfortunate, they're two very good congressmen,” he said. “It's too bad they have to run against each other, especially when they're probably on the same side on a lot of issues. But I think, in the end, Berman is more effective in getting things through Congress, he's helped author bills that have been passed."

Tom Cecil, 56, an attorney and resident of Woodland Hills, said he came to the polls mostly because he cared about the Sherman-Berman race. He asked The Times not to mention who he voted for but provided analysis.

“I was a little disappointed with Sherman's negative ads this week, but overall, he's always campaigned well,” Cecil said. “You see him at every event in the Valley -- graduations, bar events.... But Berman, who doesn't usually need to campaign as much, has been around longer. They're both good candidates."

Donald Sternberg, 61, also an attorney and a resident of Woodland Hill since 1961, voted for Berman, too. But in a sign of the difficult decision facing voters in the community, he added that his wife, in fact, voted for Sherman.

“What a shame that is,” he said. “I like them both; I'm sorry one of them may have to leave.”

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Photo: Congressional candidate Brad Sherman  leaves his polling station in Sherman Oaks with his wife, Lisa, and three daughters. Sherman is in a race against fellow Rep. Howard L. Berman. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Sherman leads Berman in USC poll of Valley voters

A USC poll taken days before one of the hottest congressional primaries in the nation shows Rep. Brad Sherman leading fellow Democratic Rep. Howard Berman, 31.7% to 24%, with more than 23% of those surveyed saying they had not yet made up their minds.

The five other candidates in the contest for the San Fernando Valley’s 30th Congressional District placed in single digits in the poll. Many experts expect the costly Berman/Sherman clash to continue into the November general election. 

Under the state’s new election system, only the first- and second-place primary finishers, regardless of any party affiliation, can compete in the fall.

The USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences on Sunday released the online and Smartphone survey of 329 registered primary election voters. It was conducted by M4 Strategies and Tulchin Research from May 29 through 31 and had a sampling error of 5.4 percentage points.

Samples were controlled for demographic characteristics and party registration. Participants were offered modest monetary compensation, and procedures were put in place to limit frequent survey-takers and discourage participants from rushing through the survey.

The poll also tested the effectiveness of two of the campaign ads that have been running. Participants viewed positive-message spots, one supporting Berman and another supporting Sherman. Asked how they would vote after seeing the ads, 39.6% chose Sherman and 30.1% picked Berman.

Participants cited the economy and jobs as the top issues that would influence their votes, with taxes and healthcare next.

Dan Schnur, director of USC’s Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, said the survey showed both Berman and Sherman were doing well in the parts of the new district that each currently represents in his old district. The two veteran congressmen’s homes wound up in the same district in last year’s redrawing of state political maps, and both insisted on seeking reelection in that district.

Democrats outnumber Republicans there, 48% to 26%.

“The irony,” said Schnur, a former GOP strategist, “is that in this Democratic district, it is the Republican voters that could determine the outcome in the fall.” 

Berman has been courting Republican voters since early in the campaign, and Schnur expects Sherman to  follow suit.

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Photo: Brad Sherman, left, and Howard Berman at a candidates debate earlier this year. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

 

 

Rafer Johnson makes TV ad for Howard Berman

Former Olympic great Rafer Johnson is starring in a new cable TV ad for Rep. Howard Berman as the longtime congressman battles with fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for the same San Fernando Valley seat in the House of Representatives.

 “Howard is widely considered one of the most effective congressmen in the nation,” Johnson says in the ad, sounding a couple of key Berman campaign themes, “and he always comes through for the Valley.” 

Johnson initially had backed Sherman but switched sides recently.

Johnson, now in his 70s,  was a gold medalist in decathlon in 1960, was drafted as a running back by the Rams, helped launch the Special Olympics in 1969 and carried the torch to open the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

He’s not the only venerable superstar to make a campaign ad for Berman—TV actress and animal rights activist Betty White, 90, did so as well.

Sherman this week announced another labor endorsement,  that of the 140,000-member Los Angeles County Building and Construction Trades Council.  “Brad Sherman understands the issues affecting working people and their day to day struggles, said trades council Executive-Secretary Robbie Hunter.

Berman has garnered support from much of the state’s  Democratic political elite, including Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.  Sherman insists he’s won more backing than Berman from local leaders and community activists. He also has represented more of the newly drawn 30th Congressional District  than has Berman and therefore was  better known to voters at the start of the race.

An independent citizens commission,  assigned to form new political maps last year without regard to party registration or incumbents’ addresses, drew Sherman’s  and Berman’s homes into the same district, touching off a  nationally watched  intraparty fight that is likely to set a spending record for House races.

Three Republicans,  one other Democrat and one Green Party member also are on the June 5 ballot.

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Photo: Rafer Johnson in 2009, holding the same torch he used to light the Olympic flame in 1984. Credit: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times

 

 

 

 

 

Berman releases tax returns

Rep. Howard Berman released copies of his federal income tax returns Friday and accompanied them  with a subtle swipe at his main competitor for a San Fernando Valley congressional seat, fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman.

"I have always stood for accountability and transparency in government," Berman said in a statement. "Today I am releasing my full returns and look forward to getting back to the important issues in this campaign."

Sherman released his tax returns April 17 and repeatedly challenged Berman to do the same.  Until this year, neither of the veteran congressmen had made their tax returns public.

They began waging a bruising, nationally watched reelection battle last year after new political maps put their homes in the same district.

Berman and his wife, Janis, reported earnings last year of $264,119, including his $148,589 congressional salary. The rest came from investments, including some real estate.  The Bermans paid $38,000 in federal income taxes.

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Sheriff, TV stars, grassroots group endorse in races

It’s been a big week for endorsements in some of the area’s hot congressional races.

First came word that “taxpayer advocate/businessman Phil  Liberatore, as he’s described on the ballot, has scored the backing of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an Arizona lawman who gained national notice for his tough immigration stance.  Liberatore is one of 13 candidates on the ballot for the open seat in the High Desert’s  8^th District, the most crowded field of any California congressional race this spring.   Arpaio’s endorsement could help set Liberatore apart from the pack of nine other Republicans, two Democrats and one independent (former GOP Assemblyman Anthony Adams).  The sheriff will appear Friday at a news conference with Liberatore—in Beverly Hills.

Next,  Democratic state Sen. Julia Brownley   announced an endorsement from the progressive group MoveOn.org in her race for another open seat, the 26^th Congressional District in Ventura County.   The national grassroots organizing group said it has some 14,800 members in the district, where five other candidates also are on the ballot.  Both major parties have targeted the race.

But it would be hard to top the popular appeal of one of the backers Rep. Howard Berman added to his list earlier this week—television star  and animal rights activist Betty White.  Berman is locked in an intense, expensive battle with fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman for the same San Fernando Valley seat.  Five others also are on the ballot in the strongly Democratic 30^th District but most of the attention in the nationally watched race is  on Berman and Sherman.

Camp Berman wasted no time in making a TV commercial  featuring  White and one of her “Hot in Cleveland” co-stars,  Wendie Malick.  In the ad,  Malick says the congressman is “unbelievably effective” while White comments on his  “very nice blue eyes.”

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Photo: Actress Betty White at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last month. Credit: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times

CSUN students host forum in 'Berman-Sherman' race

Four of the six candidates in what is widely known as the Berman-Sherman congressional race squared off Monday night, thanks to the Associated Students of Cal State Northridge's Big Politics series.

Besides Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman, who are engaged in a nationally watched, high-spending contest for a San Fernando Valley seat, Republicans Susan Shelley and Mark Reed participated in the candidates' forum at the Valley Performing Arts Center. 

Forum planners said they invited the "leading" candidates, which meant no spot on stage for Democrat Vince Gilmore or Republican Navraj Singh.

The  two-hour forum was one of several held since new political maps last year put Berman and Sherman in the same district and set up the contentious contest in the strongly Democratic district. It broke little new ground, despite the best efforts of radio host Bill Handel and CSUN questioners.

Sherman kept up his needling of Berman, including challenging him to blunt the effect of so-called super PACS and questioning when he was going to release his income tax returns. Sherman released his tax returns April 17 and challenged Berman to do the same.

"Friday," Berman promised at the debate. "How come your Xerox machine is so slow?" asked Sherman.

Berman touted his endorsements and sparred briefly with moderator Handel when he said a Berman answer about how to deal with the federal deficit wasn't understandable. "I guess I'm not Handel's messiah," quipped Berman. 

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Photo: Congressional candidates, from left, Susan Shelley, Howard Berman, Mark Reed and Brad Sherman debate Monday night.  Credit: www.csunas.org