Show r i r I 4 I II I Western Resources 1 r j 1 v WRAP WRAP-UP fY The west vest and the election By Helene C Vernal Express Washington Correspondent Washington The reclamation West more than any other part of the country will provide yeast to the next Con gress beginning in Jan January ary as It elected more newcomers to Congress Three of the five new Senators elected to the member lOO-member Senate are Westerners Republicans Chic Hecht of Nevada and San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson of California and Democrat Jeff Bingham of New Mexico The current Senate line up is 54 Republicans 45 Democrats and Harry Independent I Flood Byrd of Virginia who got his Com Com- Committee assignments from the Democrats but often orten voted the Republicans The new lineup in the Senate will be 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats About third one the 81 newcomers elected to the House are from the reclamation West They are split 3 2 3 2 Democratic like the louse House as a whole The West picked up 12 new seats due to population n increases which resulted in 7 of the new seats went to Democrats in Texas 3 California 2 Arizona 1 and New Mex- Mex Mexico Mexico ico 1 5 of the new seats went to the Republicans 1 each in Colorado Nevada Oregon Utah and Washington The The Republicans lost a seat when both bothof bothof of the South Dakota districts were com com- combined combined into one district won by Rep Thomas A Daschle a Democrat But the Republicans gained a seat because Rep Bob Stump of Arizona's Third district switched parties and ran and was was elected as a Republican on Nov 2 Redistricting proved to be a disaster for Republicans in California where Rep Phillip Burton D-Calif D is credited with turning over five or six seats to Democrats and In Texas But the Califor- Califor California California nia districting picture will change again in 1984 for the Burton redistricting plan was operative only for the Nov 2 election Elsewhere in the Ule West the Republic Republicans ns generally held their own There were remarkably few changes where in- in incumbents in incumbents ran particularly In the Moun- Moun Mountain tain West where in the traditional old West President Reagan continues to be popular There There are more Western Republicans In the Senate than GOP representation nationally the number of Western Democrats climbed In the House from 66 In the present Congress to 77 in the new Congress EFFECT OF CHANGES One of the f first actions that President Reagan took after the election was to In- In Install install stall Sen Paul Laxalt R R-Nev R Nev his 1980 campaign manager as chairman of the Republican National Committee replacIng replacing Ing Richard Richards of Utah who had announced his retirement from the post postIn postin In September Laxalt said he would not have taken the top party political ll post If he did not believe on the ba basis ls of conver- conver conversations with President Reagan that the President would stand for re-el re election re-election in 1984 The new post for Laxalt will make him particularly sensitive to Western issues and he will be in a position to alert the White House Nevada Republicans were unsuccessful unsuccessful in getting Rep Jim Santini D D- D Nev to become a Republican Santini lost in a close preliminary contest to Sen Howard W Cannon D Nev D-Nev in a bid for forthe forthe the Senate and Cannon subsequently lost to Republican challenger Hecht on Nov 2 also in a close contest Now there is talk that Santini might head the American Mining Congress lie He Is the retiring chairman of the House Mining Subcommittee Two Democrats on the House Interior Committee want the chairmanship of the House Mining Subcommittee being vacated by SantinI They are Rep Nick Joe Jr W DW Va who has just been elected to the House for a fourth term on Nov 2 As has seniority over Kogovsek and ns as he has the back back- backing backing ing of the National Coal Association for forthe forthe the post is given the edge One of the surprises of the Nov 2 elec- elec election election tion was the relatively large number of senior Republicans who bit the dust In Inthe inthe the House They included Rep Don H Clausen R R-Calif a lo who was the senior Republican on both the House Interior Committee and the House Public Works Committee and was the ranking Republican on Public Works and Rep John H Rousselot R-Calif R R a member of the ribbon blue House Ways and Means Mean Committee Both failed in their bids for election re-election primarily because of Burtons Burton's plan IMPASSE ON HOUSE AG PANEL Rep William C Cr Wampler Va R-Va a nine and Rep Hep Paul Findley R- R RIll R Ill an eight and Rep Tom Hagedorn R-MiM R R a four rank rank- ranking ranking ing Republican and senior Republicans respectively on the House Agriculture Committee all were defeated on Nov 2 So was term one Rep Clint Roberts R R- R R's s 's S Dak This has not only put the minority sta staff of the House Agriculture Committee in- in into Into to confusion but it is complicated by the fact that Wampler has not not conceded defeat and the top Republican post at this time is tentatively up for gra grabs s bet bet- between Rep Jim Mr MI Jeff Vt R-Vt who is next in line and Rep Edward R Madigan Ill R-Ill who heads the house Republican research research program and Is also the ranking Republican on the House Health and Sub Sub- Subcommittee Subcommittee committee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee This impasse on the Agriculture panel which is of prime Importance to the rural West is likely to io last for some time Jef- Jef Jeffords Jeffords fords is a maverick Republican who favors higher price supports for his dairy farmers In Vermont so the White House would prefer to deal with Madigan who held on to his seniority rity on the House Agriculture panel when he moved over overto overto to chair the House Republican Research Committee House agricultural has a total of seven vacancies and a weak chairman In Rep E Er Kika de la Graza Tex D-Tex The elec- elec election election tion was devastating to this panel In the loss of experienced savvy members One of the few bright spots for Western agriculture on this panel Is that Rep Leon E Panetta D-Calif D is in line to become chairman next year of the th panels panel's Nutrition Subcommittee which handles food stamps and other nutrition programs He is widely regarded as one of the comers In the House This sub sub- subcommittee subcommittee committee chairmanship had been head head- headed headed ed by Fred Richmond NY D who was forced to resign In year mid because of tax problems and other Irregularities The election also catapulted Under UnderSecretary UnderSecretary Secretary of Interior Donald Paul Hodel on Nov sinto 5 into the Cabinet as Secretary of Energy This was a move long in the works but the White House waited until after the election to announce It The year old Hodel Is former head of the Bonneville Power Administration and he still maintains his legal residence in Lake Oswego Ore just outside of Portland Ore the headquarters of the The appointment at this time assured there wo would ld not be a tussle for the top Energy job among defeated candidates and It assures continuity to the Depart Depart- Department Department ment of Energy DOE with the resignation Lion tion of Dr James B Edwards to head the University of South Carolina Medical School Hodel's appointment underscored DOE will be around for some time altho Mr Reagan wants to todis dis antle it Capitol Hill does not It also means that Model Hodel will come under fire from te the environmentalists as asa asa a close Interior G Watt but Holdel said on Nov 8 he planned to talk to his critics prior to his confirmation hearing In January to blunt their opposition Hodel will keep a much closer eye on Bonneville and the other power marketing agencies than Ed- Ed Edwards Edwards wards did and he will reinstate the energy conservation program at DOE Energy conservation is mandated for Bonneville under the 1980 Pacific Nor Nor- Northwest Power Act to help ease financial headaches STATEHOUSES The Democratic tide that hit the statehouses hard the year rolled over the West as well with Nevada Alaska Nebraska and Texas voting in ne new Democratic governors Only California bucked the strong Democratic trend as Attorney General George Deukmejian R-Calif R bested Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley D for the governorship f Mr Reagans Reagan's home state There were eight Republican gover- gover governors governors nors In the Western half of the United States prior to Nov 2 The election cut the total to five Nationwide the lineup changed from 27 Democrats and 23 Republicans on Nov 2 to 34 Democrats and 16 Republicans following the elections Deukmejian's win by a narrow margin is attributed to a number of factors agun a gun control proposal on the ballot which Bradley a former Los Angeles poli police e chief and a black favored a water con con- conservation proposal on the ballot which brought out a coalition of water and farm organizations that fought It as it would have limited further water diversions to the San Joaquin Valley and to Southern California and a heavy turnout of con con- conservatives conservatives and Republicans bent on defeating the controversial Gov Ed- Ed Edmund Edmund mund J Jr Jerry Brown Jr D-Calif D D Calif in his race for for the Senate Result Bradley Brown Brown gun control and the water conservation proposals all lost while Deukmejian and Wilson w wen n Farm problems and taxes ousted Gov Charles Thone Neb R-Neb in Nebraska anti and various problems did in Robert List R Nev and Bill Clements R Tex way three race gave the governorship to toa toa a Democrat in Alaska The environmentalists claimed some election triumphs but the record was spotty The freeze proposal was wason wason on the ballot in nine states Including Arizona California Montana North Dakota and Oregon and it carried in all allbut allbut but Arizona Bottle bills requiring a a five cent a- a bottle deposit on all soft drink and beer bottles were on the ballot In four states all In the West and they were defeated In Arizona California Colorado and Washington A proposal to repeal a bot- bot bottle bottie tie tle deposit law not in effect In Massachusetts also failed so that law already on the books was retained In Oregon an attempt to kill a land use planning law already ady on the books was reject rejected cd Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment barring non non- family farm corporations from buying land for farming In that farm state |