Ideological Contest : Campaign Gifts Point Up Split in School Race

Campaign finance reports of the two candidates in Tuesday’s election for the West Valley school board seat vividly underscore the confrontation between liberal and conservative forces.

Elizabeth Ginsburg has received most of her financial help from unions and old-line liberals, and David Armor’s contributors tend to be conservatives and administrators in the Los Angeles school system.

According to records filed with the city clerk’s election division, Armor raised $19,198 from March 24 until May 18. Although this is more than Ginsburg raised in the same period, it is far below the $32,149 the Armor campaign raised before the April 4 primary.

Contributions Tripled

Ginsburg, taking advantage of the smaller field of candidates, has been able to raise more than three times the amount she received before the primary. For the most recent reporting period, Ginsburg recorded $16,223 in contributions. In the weeks preceding the primary, when she faced six opponents, her campaign collected only $5,120.

Based on the background of the contributors, Ginsburg’s supporters apparently see her as a strong candidate who backs unions and liberal causes ranging from a freeze on the development of nuclear weapons to gay rights.

Armor, on the other hand, seems to attract Republican support. Many of his backers have a managerial or corporate background.

According to Parke Skelton, Ginsburg’s campaign manager, there are several reasons for her recent fund-raising successes.

One is that a coalition of women’s groups, including Women For and the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus, gave $200 each to the Ginsburg campaign and members of those two groups are working as campaign volunteers.

A wide range of issue-oriented community groups have given money to the Ginsburg campaign. These groups include Freeze: Step II, which contributed $1,000, and the Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles, an influential political organization that promotes gay rights, which gave $1,500.

Ginsburg has lent her campaign $700 and her husband contributed a loan of $1,450.

Included among her prominent individual contributors is Stanley K. Sheinbaum, a University of California regent known for his support of liberal causes.

Role of Teachers’ Union

But the largest contributor by far to the Ginsburg candidacy has been United Teachers of Los Angeles, the biggest teachers’ union in the district.

Ginsburg would be the first active UTLA member elected to the school board. Because one of the main duties of the board is to conduct contract negotiations with UTLA, Ginsburg probably would have to resign from the union.

UTLA has given Ginsburg’s campaign a $1,500 cash contribution. The union also has donated $2,136 worth of services such as typesetting, printing and photography. Ginsburg volunteers used UTLA’s bank of telephones for canvassing voters.

So far, the Ginsburg campaign has spent most of its money on direct mailings. The campaign also advertised in the Los Angeles Jewish Community Bulletin, which has one of the largest circulations among local Jewish publications, and The Jewish Calendar, an influential magazine.

Neither candidate has used radio or television ads in the primary and none is planned before Tuesday’s election.

Backing for Armor

Armor’s candidacy has received $100 from the city’s smaller, more conservative union, the Professional Educators of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Unified School District Police Officers Assn. also contributed $300 to the Armor campaign.

Most of Armor’s school district support has come from administrators ranging from Jerry Halverson, the district associate superintendent who oversees many of the district legal activities, to Gerald E. Horowitz, principal of Robert Frost Junior High in Granada Hills, and Dennis N. Sato, an assistant principal at Maclay Junior High in Pacoima.

Los Angeles school district administrators have given a total of $3,148 to the Armor campaign.

Armor’s contributions from corporations have included $2,000 from Van Nuys-based California Plant Protection Inc., $750 from Union Oil Co., $500 from Burbank Dodge and $150 from the California Outdoor Advertising Assn.

By contrast, much of Ginsburg’s support has come from unions: Carpenters Local Union 1913, $200; Local 660 of the Service Employes International Union, $300, and the L.A. City Employees Local 347, $800.

Primary Slate Mailers

The Armor campaign spent at least $12,500 to place his name on primary slate mailers that featured prominent candidates running for citywide offices. For example, $10,000 was paid to the Berman & D’Agostino campaign organization to get Armor’s name mentioned on a slate topped by Mayor Tom Bradley.

Armor’s name was also on a slate topped by Bradley’s opponent, John Ferraro. To get his name on that mailer, Armor’s campaign paid $1,500 to the Ronald Smith Co.

As with the Ginsburg campaign, most of Armor’s money has gone for direct mailings. Armor spent about $6,866 on mailers sent to voters. The campaign also paid $3,000 to Christopher Nelson & Associates of Sugarloaf, Calif., for consulting services.

During this reporting period, Armor lent his campaign $5,000. Armor’s wife, Marilyn, also lent the campaign $5,000. Armor’s company, National Policy Analysts, contributed $500.