1992 Campaign : Hope to Run If New District Materializes

Tony Hope said Thursday that he plans to seek the Republican nomination for Congress again in 1992 if, as he expects, a new district is created in the West San Fernando Valley.

“I fully expect to do that,” said Hope, a Harvard-educated attorney and the son of entertainer Bob Hope.

Hope, 48, has raised his political profile with his recent nomination to the state Republican Central Committee by Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley). His confirmation is expected when the party convenes Feb. 18 for its next convention.

In 1986, Hope had sought the GOP nomination for the 21st District seat vacated by then-Rep. Bobbie Fiedler but was upset by Mayor Elton Gallegly, then the mayor of Simi Valley. Nevertheless, Hope proved a prolific fund-raiser. His financial supporters included former Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon and many prominent members of the entertainment industry.

Hope, reached in Washington, D.C., Thursday, said he would not challenge Gallegly, with whom he has consulted periodically.

Health Care Job

Hope is a senior vice president of Mutual of Omaha, where he is responsible for long-range planning for health-care issues. He said he divides his time between the firm’s Washington and Los Angeles offices. His wife, Judy, is a trial attorney with the Los Angeles law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

Contrary to a report in Thursday’s editions of The Times, Hope has been registered as a Republican to vote in North Hollywood since July 21, 1987, and has a California driver’s license.

Shortly before announcing his candidacy in 1986, Hope had moved to a Northridge home after a 10-year absence from California--prompting Gallegly to brand him a carpetbagger. He subsequently sold that house.

Hope said he has remained active in California political and civic affairs since his inaugural bid for public office, giving speeches to Republican groups and participating in the California Bar Assn. He is also chairman of the board of Mount Vernon College in Washington.

He readily acknowledged that defeat did not diminish his desire to go to Congress--if the opportunity presents itself.

The state’s 45 congressional districts will be redrawn by the Legislature and governor after the 1990 election. California is projected to gain about five additional seats as a result of its increased population, with the majority in fast-growing Southern California.

Though the redistricting will not begin until the 1990 Census is completed, Hope outlined a scenario that he said could make his candidacy a reality. It calls for pushing Gallegly’s 21st District--which includes Republican-leaning parts of the Los Angeles communities of Northridge, Canoga Park, Granada Hills and Woodland Hills--entirely into Ventura County, which has grown substantially in the past decade, Hope said.

As a result, he said, a new district “will get created in the Valley.”

It remains to be seen, however, whether the Democrats will allow a Republican-dominated district to be established in the Valley, especially if they win control of the governorship as well as both houses of the Legislature in 1990.

Their first priority is likely to be protecting veteran Reps. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Tarzana) and Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), who represent most of the West and East Valleys, respectively.

The more conservative Valley portion of Beilenson’s 23rd District is more than offset by the 40% of the district on the staunchly liberal Westside. Beilenson was reelected to a seventh term last November with 63% of the vote.