Environmentalists Mobilize Against California Lawmaker

Longabaugh and his allies -- who are waging a "voter education campaign" but will likely issue endorsements later in the campaign -- are highlighting several controversies surrounding Pombo. They could end up spending a few million dollars on the race.

These activists question why Pombo spent $4,935.82 in taxpayer dollars to tour seven national parks with his family during the summer of 2003. He counters that he paid for his family's meals and would have spent more if he had toured the areas by plane. Longabaugh's group is running a radio ad assailing the congressman for suggesting that the United States should sell off 15 national parks; Pombo says that was a staff proposal that he never seriously considered.

Pombo's Republican and Democratic opponents echo the themes of the national environmentalists. Former GOP congressman Pete McCloskey, 78, who helped found Earth Day in 1970, said he came out of retirement to challenge Pombo in the June 6 primary because Republicans "have been corrupted more than the Democrats ever were. . . . We're not just taking on Pombo, we're taking on the whole Republican Party."

The top two Democratic contenders, wind energy designer Jerry McNerney and airline pilot Steve Filson, say they are mainstream alternatives to Pombo. McNerney garnered 39 percent of the vote in the 2004 election, but national Democrats see Filson as a stronger candidate.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Pombo's constituents need to ask themselves "who Congressman Pombo is. Did he change Washington or did Washington change him?"

Pleasanton offers Pombo's critics some hope. Neil Reeder, a medical salesman in town, said he is concerned about the congressman's environmental record, given the torrential rain Northern California experienced this year. "It's probably a question of global warming," he said.

But some voters, including retired paralegal Marty Maslana, bristled at the environmentalists' negative campaign tactics.

"I'm so tired of 'This one said this, and that one said that,' " said Maslana, a political independent. "It's time to stop this constant partisan bickering. There's business that needs to be taken care of."