Congressman and his Democratic challenger have little in common

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (RThousand Oaks) is looking to cinch his 12th term as representative for the 24th Congressional District, but challenger Marta Ann Jorgensen thinks it's time for a Democrat to take over.

The 24th District covers inland Santa Barbara County and most of Ventura County, including Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.

Gallegly said he "doesn't know anything" about Jorgensen.

"I know that I'm a family person," Gallegly said. "I've lived in this district for 41 years. I know the people in this district as well as anyone who has had the privilege of serving. I think it's important to know about a person's background."

Jorgensen moved to California in 1958 and to Santa Barbara County in 1997. She currently lives in Solvang. She was a nurse for 27 years, retiring in 2004 to focus on her private computer school, which closed in 2006 after a death in the family.

Jorgensen did some community organizing in Los Angeles, focusing on environmental issues. During her years of nursing, she became interested in healthcare issues and said she felt the best way to work in those areas was to run for office.

Marta Jorgensen Gallegly ran a small business for 20 years before he was elected. A former Simi Valley mayor, he has held his post for 11 terms.

"I've been doing this several years," he said. "You make commitments to your constituents, and over that period you establish if you've kept those commitments or you haven't. Hopefully people reelect you based on whether you keep them."

Jorgensen said she and Gallegly are "on opposite ends of the spectrum." She's focused on alternative energy and is unhappy with her opponent's environmental votes. Jorgensen also said Gallegly is on the side of "Big Oil" and would drill in national parks if there was oil there.

Jorgensen also said she'd like to get out of the war.

"He's pro-war," she said of Gallegly. "Anything Bush or McCain wants, he'd be supporting. As a Democrat, I'm in favor of pulling out, not so much to be irresponsible about it, but I don't want us to be there forever."

The two candidates also stand apart on healthcare.

"Another big difference between us is our healthcare philosophy," Jorgensen said. "I feel it's a right, not a privilege. He's more inclined to view it as a profit-making deal."

Gallegly said that other than national security, the troubled economy is the most critical issue facing his voters today.

"Economy has a profound effect on potential national security," Gallegly said.

"One really has an impact on the other. That doesn't mean that education and healthcare and criminal justice issues aren't very important, but if we fail economically, and our national security is jeopardized, the best plans in education and healthcare won't make a difference," he said.

Jorgensen agreed.

"The bailout was geared for banks," Jorgensen said. "Now we need to bail out the public. We need to help restructure mortgages and put together something for the individual. I don't know how we can do that because we don't seem to have any money."

Administering tighter regulations on banks is one way, she said.

"It's important to shore up the middle class," Jorgensen said. "They are the ones hardest hit by everything. We can start putting on tighter regulations for banks and predatory lenders and have tighter controls of financial institutions so they don't have the kind of power they have now."

Jorgensen said Gallegly thinks he's a shoe-in for a 12th term.

"He's feels that it's pretty much his entitlement to continue on forever as a congressman," Jorgensen said. "I've been going around with staff, canvassing the district, and that's not the sentiment. People want him out."

Jorgensen also called Gallegly unfriendly and inaccessible.

"People want to feel secure that they have their voice heard," she said. "There's nothing worse than being broke, losing money, losing jobs and not having representation."

Gallegly serves on four House panels: the Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, Natural Resources and Intelligence committees. He said when he became the 24th District representative, he never thought about how long he'd stay on.

"When you've been a part of something, and made a positive difference, that can increase focus in what you're doing," Gallegly said. "It's an incredible opportunity, to be involved in the history of this country. To see the fall . . . of the Berlin wall, having suffered tragedies like Sept. 11—I've seen so many things take place in the last 20 years, and I played a role in that."

Gallegly said his opponent has been critical of his spending so much time in Ventura County.

Jorgensen said people north of Ventura to whom she's spoken "don't know what he's about" and are concerned since he's represented the district for so long.

Gallegly said he has one of the highest voting percentages in Congress, more than 95 percent, and thinks it's important to travel back to his district on the weekends.

"I travel back and forth," Gallegly said. "I've never been in D.C. more than two weekends of the year. Being in my district is what I believe representative government is all about."