Villaraigosa Far Ahead in Fundraising

Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, who is aggressively raising money to finance his second bid for the city’s highest office, had raised almost $1.7 million more than incumbent James K. Hahn as the Los Angeles mayoral race entered its final stage.

Campaign finance reports filed Thursday showed that Villaraigosa had collected more than $2.8 million for the runoff campaign through the end of last month compared with less than $1.2 million for Hahn.

When taxpayer-financed matching funds are included, Villaraigosa had about $670,000 more than the mayor for the final phase of the campaign, when most voters begin to tune in.

The disparity means that Villaraigosa will dominate the television ad battle in the last 11 days of the race, though Hahn appears to have the money he needs to buy enough commercials to communicate his message.

But the slower pace of Hahn’s fundraising adds to the impression of a mayor “floundering” in his reelection quest, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a USC political science professor.

“It appears as though the mayor has totally stalled, and that the money is on Villaraigosa,” she said. “That’s the perception, and in politics, perception is reality.”

Consistently low poll ratings have made it hard for Hahn to draw support from donors who normally would lavish contributions on a sitting mayor with leverage over business interests at City Hall.

Villaraigosa’s campaign manager, Ace Smith, said Hahn’s latest fundraising report showed that the mayor is “in deep trouble.”

“An incumbent mayor being out-raised by a challenger is a sign of a critically ill campaign,” Smith said.

At Macedonia Baptist Church in South Los Angeles on Thursday night, Hahn said he was not worried about his challenger’s fat bank account. “It’s not the money, it’s the message,” he said.

Hahn advisor Kam Kuwata said the campaign was spending its money strategically, “trying to find our vote, and we feel we’re being very successful at that.” He cited intensive get-out-the-vote efforts by members of unions backing the mayor.

Villaraigosa also outspent Hahn in the runoff four years ago, only to lose the election. But the gap in financial firepower between the two candidates is far larger now than in 2001.

In the fundraising race, Villaraigosa has many advantages. As speaker of the state Assembly from 1998 to 2000, he built a wide network of campaign donors. He broadened his donor base with his 2003 campaign for City Council. And last year, he cultivated an even wider range of contributors as he traveled the country as a national co-chairman of Sen. John F. Kerry’s presidential campaign.

Villaraigosa has made fundraising trips in recent weeks to San Francisco, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Miami.

Villaraigosa raised almost $258,000 from out of state between April 3 and April 30, compared with $76,450 for Hahn.

But Villaraigosa’s fundraising success is a double-edged sword.

Controversy arose last week over his fundraising from executives, employees and their relatives at two Florida companies: Travel Traders and S.E. Florida Investments. Travel Traders operates gift stores in upscale hotels.

News reports that some donors seemed confused about the contributions or had trouble explaining them led Villaraigosa to promise to return the money, as Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley opened a preliminary inquiry into whether the $47,000 was laundered.

Hahn has made the donations the focus of two scathing television commercials in an attempt to inoculate himself from accusations that his administration had steered city business to his contributors. Those “pay-to-play” allegations are the subject of a grand jury investigation that is featured in a Villaraigosa television ad.

Villaraigosa had dinner with Travel Traders president Sean Anderson and City Hall lobbyist Art M. Gastelum last September.

But he insists that there was no discussion of whether Anderson is interested in obtaining lucrative concession contracts at Los Angeles International Airport.

But documents filed in Miami federal court suggest that Anderson is hoping to operate concessions at the airport.

Anderson formerly was the chief executive of North American operations for W.H. Smith, which ran gift shops and newsstands at the airport until late 2003. He and the firm were once big Hahn supporters, with Anderson joining Hahn on a trip to Asia.

In December 2000, Anderson held a fundraiser for Hahn. W.H. Smith employees and relatives donated more than $25,000. W.H. Smith also contributed $50,000 to Hahn’s campaign against San Fernando Valley secession.

The airport remains a prime fundraising venue for the mayor, who has pushed an $11-billion plan to upgrade the airport. Hahn received $1,000 each from Alaska, America West, American, Delta, Southwest and United airlines.

Five labor and trade groups have given $1,000 each to Hahn.

From the entertainment industry, Hahn received $1,000 each from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and music producer Quincy Jones. He also received $1,000 from News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch.

The mayor returned $4,250 from five executives of airport concession-holder HMS Host and the firm itself, and $1,000 from Advanced Cleanup Technologies, a firm whose attorney is city Harbor Commission President Nick Tonsich.

Villaraigosa has received large amounts of contributions from attorneys, developers, unions, city contractors, elected officials, the entertainment industry and City Hall lobbyists.

The reports also show that Villaraigosa received $6,000 in additional donations from Los Angeles developer Richard Meruelo and members of his extended family, bringing their total to $27,000. A major property owner in downtown Los Angeles, Meruelo has also made $82,711 in independent expenditures on Villaraigosa’s behalf. His purchase of a 23-acre site that the Los Angeles Unified School District sought for a new high school has angered residents in the city’s Glassell Park area.

Those who contributed $1,000 each include: Michael Eisner, chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co.; airline magnate Alfred Checchi; singer Barbra Streisand; basketball star turned businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson; television producer Norman Lear; and film company head Haim Saban.

City contractors, franchisees or lease-holders that gave $1,000 each include HMS Host and restaurant owner Andy Camacho, whose airport concession contract was recently extended.

Entertainment industry donations of $500 each came from Univision television network owner A. Jerrold Perenchio, Warner Bros. and actor Jimmy Smits.

Times staff writers Richard Fausset, Patrick McGreevy and Deborah Schoch and Times researcher Maloy Moore contributed to this report.

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The money race

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa is raising money at a faster clip than incumbent James K. Hahn, collecting almost $1.7 million more through the end of April.

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How much they’ve raised

James K. Hahn: $1,171,120

Antonio Villaraigosa: $2,863,623

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How much they have left

James K. Hahn: $1,114,757*

Antonio Villaraigosa: $1,783,869*

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* What’s left includes matching money from the city’s system of public financing for political campaigns. The fundraising figure does not include matching funds.

Source: Campaign contribution reports