Directed Electronics founder Darrell Issa climbing GOP leadership ladder

49th District lawmaker set to be top Republican on powerful oversight panel
By MARK WALKER

Later this week, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa is expected to be appointed the top Republican on the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the House's primary investigative panel, perhaps best known for its widely watched hearings on steroid use in baseball.GOP kingpins who decide committee assignments are expected to meet Tuesday or Wednesday and approve Issa's appointment.Issa, entering his ninth year in Congress, is unopposed for the leadership post, having won the backing of senior Republican members of the committee he has served on for four years."Right now I have the opportunity to attack the problems of government that my constituents are most concerned about," the Vista multimillionaire said in an interview last week. "This is my opportunity to do a lot more about fixing government."Issa represents the 49th Congressional District, which includes much of North County and Southwest Riverside County.The committee's former ranking Republican, Tom Davis of Virginia, said in a recent letter to colleagues that Issa would "outmaneuver and outwork the Democrats" and will help the GOP in its efforts to reclaim a majority in the House.Issa and the outgoing chairman of the committee, Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, frequently clashed about policy and procedure. The new chairman is expected to be U.S. Rep. Adolphus Towns, D-N.Y., with whom Issa said he has a good working relationship.Waxman preferred "gotcha" hearings on chief executives' pay and baseball players who used steroids, Issa said. He and Towns, he said, are committed to helping the Obama administration improve the workings of government and focus on eliminating wasteful federal programs.Political science professor Gary Jacobson at UC San Diego said Issa's lack of opposition is significant."It's a good sign for him that shows he has the respect of his colleagues and is seen as a serious player," Jacobson said.North San Diego County's other Republican member of the House, U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, also serves on the oversight committee, and said Issa has found a niche there."He isn't intimidated by anybody and will step into the line of fire when he thinks it's necessary," said Bilbray, who represents the 50th Congressional District that covers much of North County and a portion of San Diego. "Darrell has a way of being forceful and he will be an effective voice for the party on the committee."Considered a rank-and-file Republican, the conservative Issa votes along party lines about 93 percent of the time, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan group Open Congress.Route to leadershipIssa, who will turn 55 on Jan. 1, was first elected to the House in 2000 following a failed 1998 U.S. Senate bid in which he spent $12 million of his own money.The nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics in Washington recently listed him as the second-richest member of the House, with an estimated net worth of $343 million.A high-school dropout, Issa served in the Army and later earned an equivalency diploma and college degree. He made his first millions through Directed Electronics Incorporated and its Viper car alarm.Since his first House election, he has faced little serious opposition. In November, he was re-elected with 59 percent of the vote.A Cleveland native whose grandparents immigrated from Lebanon, Issa focused on Middle Eastern issues early in his congressional career. He says he continues to visit the region, but tries to avoid publicity.His first significant national exposure came in 2003 when he helped bankroll the petition drive to recall then-Gov. Gray Davis. Issa was planning to put his own name on the ballot, but backed out when Arnold Schwarzenegger got into the race. In a tear-filled appearance two days before the filing deadline, Issa announced he wouldn't run.He made his mark on the oversight committee last year, frequently sparring with the often combative Waxman and pressing the Interior Department to clean up problems in its oil and gas leasing programs.He also was an early and vocal opponent of the financial rescue plan for Wall Street, saying it lacked sufficient oversight. Last month, he introduced legislation calling for a 9/11-style commission to investigate the collapse of banks and major financial firms and says he will reintroduce the bill when the new Congress gavels into session in January.Shaping the new GOP?Just how much clout Issa will wield on the committee remains to be seen. Democrats hold a more than 80-seat majority and will largely have their way in the first months of the Obama administration.Tony Krvaric, chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party, said Issa has been "an unrecognized asset for the county who has been under-appreciated. I think we will continue to see him moving up in the ranks."Conservatives Issa, Bilbray and newly elected U.S. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, will help the GOP reassert itself after the beating it took in the November election, Krvaric said."Darrell Issa, Bilbray and Hunter have a great opportunity to help shape the Republican Party and get back to the basics of conservatism," he said. "The resurgence of our party will come from people like the three congressmen we have right here in San Diego County."Issa refuses to rule out a bid for governor or another Senate run in 2010. He said he's focused on his new committee role more than contemplating "helping California at the state level or moving from one side of the (capitol) dome to the other.""If you go into government, you go there hoping to get something done," Issa said. "I'm cautiously optimistic that we can change the tone and tenor of that committee and start doing real oversight and reform