Burbank Democratic Club

Schiff, who has raised $570,000 for this year's campaign, compared to $18,000 for his opponents, has moved into a leadership role in the newly Democratic Congress. He serves both on the Appropriations and the Judiciary Committee, and has just been named to the Select Intelligence Oversight Committee.

He has worked on national security issues, including nuclear proliferation, has pushed for ratification of the 9-11 commission recommendations, and is a leader on international copyright and anti-piracy efforts. He has also become the leading Congressional spokesman for U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Local issues of major concern for Schiff include extension of the Gold Line, a project he helped rescue from the MTA scrap heap, and a study of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains conservancy through establishment of a Rim of the Valley corridor.

Sen. Barack Obama has built a reputation for developing unprecedented levels of grassroots support for his campaign, but he blocked hundreds of California backers this week from competing to become national convention delegates in his name, angering Democrats who had been organizing for weeks to win a ticket to Denver, reports Kevin Yamamura.

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