Eric Garcetti edges Wendy Greuel in L.A. mayoral race fundraising
Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti has raised $2.87 million for his mayoral bid, edging ahead of City Controller Wendy Greuel by about $72,000 in the search for campaign cash, according to figures released Wednesday by the two campaigns.
Garcetti raised $664,000 in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $592,000 collected by Greuel, who has taken in $2.8 million since launching her campaign.
Garcetti also outpaced Greuel during the previous fundraising period, which ended June 30. At that point, he led in contributions by just $322.
In funding and opinion polls, Garcetti and Greuel have been at the top of a field of several candidates vying to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who must leave office June 30 because of term limits. The election will be held in March with a runoff slated for May.
Garcetti campaign consultant Bill Carrick pointed out that his client entered the race and began fundraising five months after Greuel.
“We’re not tied. We’re ahead. Obviously it’s not by some huge margin, but we’re definitely continuing to be in a growth pattern here,” Carrick said. “Obviously we’re very happy that we’re raising more money than other people in the race.”
Greuel’s campaign released a statement saying the totals highlight her “robust low-dollar fundraising network,” which led to more than 6,000 contributions from 4,782 individuals.
John Shallman, Greuel’s campaign consultant, said Greuel is more “focused on how much money she can save the city taxpayers than how much money she raises for her campaign.”
Garcetti reported $2.35 million still available in his coffers, compared with $2.25 million for Greuel.
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Jan Perry reported raising $1.3 million since the start of her campaign, including more than $150,000 over the last three months. Perry said she wasn’t worried about her third-place position in the money race.
“I will continue to raise money till election day,” Perry said. “And I will have enough money to run my race in a competitive manner.”
Former prosecutor Kevin James reported collecting a campaign total of $275,090 as of the end of last month. A fifth candidate, tech company executive Emanuel Pleitez, reported raising slightly more than $110,000 since joining the race in July.
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