House Will Get 2, or 3, New Faces From Area

Rep. Jane Harman’s decision to run for governor and the retirement of Rep. Esteban Edward Torres guarantee two new faces in Los Angeles County’s congressional delegation, and Rep. Jay C. Kim’s legal problems create the strong possibility that a third freshman will join the group.

Kim (R-Diamond Bar), who has been serving a home detention sentence at his northern Virginia residence for receiving $250,000 in illegal campaign contributions, faces tough primary opposition.

Republicans lined up against Kim in the east county’s 41st Congressional District are state Assemblyman Gary G. Miller of Diamond Bar, Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Pierce, and Jack Healy, a retired marketing manager from Diamond Bar.

Kim has been campaigning for his fourth term by using a cellular phone, sending an aide to fill in for him, and showing a video at campaign events.

Democrat Eileen Ansari, a former Diamond Bar City Council member, is running unopposed for her party’s nomination.

Harman’s 36th District, which runs along the coast from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Venice, is considered a plum by both parties.

Harman has endorsed Janice Hahn, a San Pedro businesswoman and daughter of former county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, against Nilo Michelin, a deputy prosecutor for the city of Hawthorne, for the Democratic nomination.

On the Republican side are former Rancho Palos Verdes City Council member Susan Brooks, who ran twice against Harman and lost; state Assemblyman Steven T. Kuykendall of Rancho Palos Verdes; Los Angeles City Council member Rudy Svorinich Jr.; Robert Lucien Klein, a Torrance business owner; and Robert T. Pegram, a computer consultant from Lomita.

The 34th District, which includes Montebello, Norwalk, Hacienda Heights, Pico Rivera and Whittier, involves a slugfest for the Democratic nomination between state Assemblywoman Grace Napolitano of Santa Fe Springs and James M. Casso, who was chief deputy to Torres (D-Pico Rivera).

Ed Perez, a telecommunications manager, is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.