Rep. Darrell Issa (R) Elected 2000, 2d term
Born:	Nov. 1, 1953, Cleveland, OH
Home:	Vista
Education:	Sienna Heights U., B.A. 1976
Religion:	Antioch Orthodox Christian
Marital Status:	married (Kathy)
Military Career:	Army, 1970-72; 1976-80.
Professional Career:	Founder & Pres., Directed Electronics, 1982-99.
Additional Info
Recent Articles · Offices · Committees · Ratings · Key Votes · Election Results District Demographics
More On California
At A Glance · State Profile District Map Redistricting · Almanac Home

The California coast between Los Angeles and San Diego has never entirely filled up with development and never will as long as the Marine Corps retains custody of Camp Pendleton, the giant training base just south of the Orange-San Diego County line. The land along the coast and inland in northern San Diego County, usually referred to as North County, this was largely empty territory a quarter century ago--never fertile enough to produce a large farm community, never endowed with much manufacturing, never actively promoted as a retirement community. But North County has been growing rapidly these last 20 years. Today about one million people live here, and who can blame them? For this is one of America's most beautiful and comfortable environments, with ocean and mountain scenery, sunny and warm weather, no rural poverty and low crime. Here, amid dry but not desert landscape, you can see miles of rolling hills, with occasional surrealistic trees and sagebrush-like bushes; mountains clump up not in ridges, but here and there, seemingly at random. This land has attracted thousands of new migrants--many, but by no means all, retirees.

The 49th Congressional District occupies the northern part of San Diego County and the southwestern corner of Riverside County. It was the fastest-growing California district in the 1990s, with a population increase of 35%. On the coast next to Camp Pendleton is Oceanside, a lower-middle-income town heavily dependent on the base; local business declined in early 2003 when thousands of residents went off to war. Inland is Vista, a higher-income community. About 40% of the district's population is in these two areas. About 30% are in small communities in North County, including a small portion of San Diego. Another 30% are in Riverside County. Here is the instant city of Temecula: a corner-grocery town serving a vineyard district in the mid-1980s, it is now the center of an area with more than 100,000 people, mostly commuters attracted by low-priced homes and traditional values. To the north are the older communities of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake and Perris. Politically, this is a heavily Republican area, 59% for George W. Bush in 2000. People here are affluent enough to identify with the party of property, conventional enough in their personal lives to identify with what describes itself as the party of traditional values.

The congressman from the 49th District is Darrell Issa (pronounced EYE-sah), a Republican first elected in 2000. He grew up in Cleveland and graduated from Sienna Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. After his Army service, Issa started the Viper car alarm company in Cleveland, moved the business to North County and renamed it Directed Electronics, where it became the world's largest manufacturer of vehicle security systems, with the industry's largest R&D budget. The firm, the first with a programmable personal computer system, made him a fortune estimated at $200 million as he found a way to capitalize legally on America's high crime rates. He became active in the high-tech industry, serving as chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association. In the early 1990s he turned to politics, contributing to Republicans and chairing the 1996 campaign to pass Proposition 209, which banned state use of racial quotas and preferences. In 1998 he ran for the Senate seat of Barbara Boxer and spent $12 million of his own money. But he lost the Republican primary 45%-40% to Matt Fong.

In November 1999, when North County incumbent Ron Packard announced his retirement, it was obvious that his successor would be chosen in the March 2000 Republican primary. Although there were 10 candidates, the race turned into a bruising two-man contest between Issa and state Senator Bill Morrow; former Congressman Robert Dornan expressed interest in a comeback attempt, but he deferred to his son, Mark Dornan, who ended up trailing well behind. Morrow questioned Issa's business practices. Issa raised questions about his opponent's honesty. On most issues, the candidates took similar positions; they supported streamlining government, opposed abortion and favored rebuilding the military. Issa spent $1.5 million of his own money on the primary, and beat Morrow 46%-30%. In the fall the Democratic nominee disconnected his phone and abandoned his campaign because his party, predictably, gave him little support. Issa won 61%-28%.

In the House, Issa's voting record was relatively moderate, especially on foreign issues. Probably aided by his prior lobbying and political contacts, he quickly learned his way. "It's a cool job," he told a local reporter after a few months. He became unusually active on overseas issues. On the eve of George W. Bush's decision to start the war in Afghanistan, Issa, who is of Lebanese descent, joined Democrat Robert Wexler, who is Jewish, in a visit to several Middle East nations to build support for the United States. During that trip, he suggested that he was the victim of racial profiling when he was kept off an Air France flight to Paris; the airline claimed that he was late. On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Issa urged colleagues to pursue contacts with Palestinians who seek peace. After he hesitatingly voted for a House resolution expressing solidarity with Israel, he voiced reservations about its lack of even-handedness. In December 2001, the issue of terrorism hit especially close to home: two members of the militant Jewish Defense League were charged with plotting to blow up Issa's office in San Clemente and a Culver City mosque. At the start of his second term, he won a seat on Energy and Commerce that he had sought as a freshman. He has said he may run against Boxer again in 2004. In May 2003, he announced he would at least partially bankroll the ongoing effort to recall Governor Gray Davis; he may run for governor if a recall is on the statewide ballot in the fall of 2003 or March 2004.

Update: March 10, 2004
On August 7, 2003, Issa announced he would not run in the October 7 election to recall Davis.

Recent News Coverage
Search the CongressDaily, Hotline, House Race Hotline, National Journal and Technology Daily archives using the form below:

DC Office
211 CHOB 20515, 202-225-3906; Fax: 202-225-3303; Web site: www.house.gov/issa

State Offices
Temecula, 909-693-2447; Vista, 760-599-5000.

Committees

• Energy & Commerce (29th of 31 R): Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection; Energy & Air Quality; Environment & Hazardous Materials.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	CON	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2002	0	20	0	13	58	100	61	100	96	86	83
2001	10	--	10	0	--	--	61	100	84	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2001 LIB	--	2001 CONS		2002 LIB	--	2002 CONS
Economic	22%	--	74%		28%	--	69%
Social	38%	--	61%		0%	--	75%
Foreign	43%	--	53%		34%	--	65%
For National Journal's complete 2002 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 107th Congress (More Info)
1. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 2. Limit Patients' Bill of Rights Y 3. Campaign Finance Reform N 4. Ban ANWR Development N 5. Faith-Based Charities Y 6. Bar Gays in the Boy Scouts Y		7. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  8. Arm Commercial Pilots Y  9. Trade Promotion Authority Y 10. Bar Funds for Intl. Court Y 11. Authorize Force in Iraq Y 12. Deny Home. Sec. Dept. Union Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2002 general	Darrell Issa (R)	94,594	77%	$326,416
	Karl Dietrich (Lib)	26,891	22%	$27,792
	Other	1,012	1%
2002 primary	Darrell Issa (R)	unopposed
2000 general	Darrell Issa (R)	160,627	61%	$2,300,907
	Peter Kouvelis (D)	74,073	28%	$17,069
	Eddie Rose (Ref)	11,240	4%
	Other	15,538	6%

2000 presidential
	Bush (R)	114,193	59%
	Gore (D)	75,561	39%
	Other	5,217	3%
For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Forty-Ninth District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +11
• District Size: 1,778 square miles
• Population in 2000: 639,087; 90.3% urban; 9.7% rural
• Median Household Income: $46,445; 11.9% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 24.4% blue collar; 58.1% white collar; 17.5% gray collar; 15.3% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 57.9% White, 5.0% Black, 3.5% Asian, 0.9% Amer. Indian, 0.5% Hawaiian, 2.5% Two+ races, 0.2% Other, 29.5% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 10.7% German, 7.9% Irish, 7.8% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.