Gallegly seeks his 11th term in Congress

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly Elton Gallegly has a much longer commute than most. The congressman, who lives in Simi Valley, usually spends Tuesday through Wednesday in Washington, D.C., conducting legislative business. Then he flies home to California to spend Friday to Monday with his family and with constituents.

"It's important not to lose a sense of your roots," Gallegly said.

Gallegly, 62, has been commuting for nearly 20 years, having been elected 10 times, representing most of Ventura County, including Thousand Oaks and inland Santa Barbara County. He's hoping to make it 11 terms if he's chosen over opponent Michael Tenenbaum in the June 6 primary to run on the Republican ticket in November.

"I never rest on my laurels," Gallegly said. "It's important for the people you represent to understand that you take things very seriously."

In a Tuesday phone interview with the Thousand Oaks Acorn from his office in Washington, Gallegly discussed his achievements and goals, and his dropping out and coming back into the race, a move that surprised everyone, including the Republican Party, the White House and Gallegly's constituents.

On March 10, Gallegly unexpectedly announced his retirement for undisclosed health reasons. It was too late for anyone else to file candidacy papers or for Gallegly to remove his name from the ballot. A few days later, Gallegly retracted the decision.

He will not reveal what tests he underwent or what the medical situation was. He will only say that any concerns have been resolved.

"There's been a lot of misinformation not generated by my office that is not uncommon for a campaign," Gallegly said. "I don't want to give any information because if there is an inaccuracy, it develops a life of its own."

It was all just a matter of timing, he said. The campaign filing deadline came before the medical test results were in. He said he felt the responsible thing to do was to pull out. During that time he received support from the state's Republican party and from the White House, asking him to stay in the race.

"It was a humbling experience," Gallegly said.

He says his seniority is of great value, helping him get through the "maze of people on both sides of the aisle."

He serves on several House committees, including the Intelligence Committee, working with the FBI, CIA and the NSA. He says that post 9/11, a lot of hard work by the government, the military and intelligence-gathering agencies has gone into national security.

"The fact that we haven't had another hit is not by accident," Gallegly said. "We still live in a very dangerous world."

Gallegly is proud of his record on immigration. As chairman of a task force on immigration reform in the mid '90s, Gallegly says it was the most comprehensive bill on the issue.

"Unfortunately, we haven't had an administration with the fortitude or will to implement or enforce those laws and regulations on the bill," Gallegly said.

Two years ago a study found that more than 2 million people were working with invalid Social Security numbers. Employers were notified to terminate or correct the Social Security numbers, according to Gallegly. He says it was a successful way to crack down on illegal immigrants, but that the program died out due to pressure by businesses. Gallegly is working to revive the program.

Although he is a staunch supporter of President Bush, Gallegly says he takes the opposite side of the president concerning amnesty.

"My definition is that if you're here illegally and given a pass to stay here illegally I won't sign off on it," Gallegly said.

Gallegly was elected to the Simi Valley City Council in 1979 and remained on the council, serving a stint as mayor, until 1986 when he ran for Congress.

"As mayor I created 10,000 new jobs. I took that experience to Washington," Gallegly said.

A native Californian, Gallegly has lived in Ventura County for nearly 40 years. He has four adult children and seven grandchildren. All live in Ventura County except for his oldest son, who works for Coca-Cola and is based in Moscow.

"It's a high honor to serve in the House of Representatives," Gallegly said. "It's a way of life and an opportunity that few people ever have. I value every moment of it."