Campaign Coffers: Deukmejian Reserve Tops Bradley by 5 to 1

Although the polls are uncertain on the voters’ choice for governor, the most recent poll of the pocketbook is decisive: Republican Gov. George Deukmejian’s campaign fund has a cash balance more than five times that of his likely Democratic rival, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

Tapping major corporate and agricultural donors from all over the state, Deukmejian had a surplus of $3.95 million as of Dec. 31, according to campaign spending reports filed with the secretary of state’s office. Bradley, who ended up with a cash balance of $718,351, attracted donors mostly from the Los Angeles area, with some notable exceptions.

The governor’s surplus is evidence “of tremendous support from one end of California to the other,” said Karl Samuelian, Deukmejian’s state finance chairman and a Los Angeles attorney. He said it “illustrates the governor’s strength as he enters this reelection year.”

At Bradley’s as-yet unofficial campaign headquarters, supporters not surprisingly downplayed the significance of the difference between the two coffers.

“We have not yet begun to fund-raise,” said Mary Nichols, campaign manager. Pointing out that Bradley “raised and spent about $2 million last year to get reelected as mayor,” Nichols said that “old contributors need a little rest” before being approached again and new contributors “need to see evidence of a campaign before it’s productive to approach them.”

Nichols said she has “no con cern” about being able to reach the campaign’s $9-million to $10-million fund-raising goal.

Bradley’s biggest donor in the last half of the year was the brokerage firm of Smith Barney of New York, which contributed $25,000. The contribution came in December, when Bradley made a fund-raising trip to New York to tap several Wall Street brokerage firms, which are paid to help sell municipal bonds for Los Angeles. The fund-raiser was organized by Travers Bell, head of Daniels & Bell, a firm involved in marketing bonds for a proposed city trash disposal project. The event was held under the auspices of the New York Bradley Roundtable, which Bell started.

Deukmejian’s biggest contributor was Western Growers PAC, an agribusiness group, which gave $41,000.

A growers’ spokesman said a main reason was Deukmejian’s reshuffling of the state Agriculture Labor Relations board, which the governor said was unfairly weighted in favor of workers. Deukmejian has appointed board members and an agency general counsel, David Stirling, who generally support growers.

Deukmejian appointees on the board “establish some balance,” said Michael Stuart, vice president of public relations for the Western Growers Assn. “We felt he is someone who has understood agriculture’s problems.”

Among the governor’s other large contributions were $37,500 from the William Lyon Co., a Newport Beach-based home building company; $35,000 from the Koll Co. of Newport Beach, a commercial and industrial developer; $30,000 from the Newhall Land and Farming Co.; and $25,000 from the Pacific Lighting Co., the parent company of the Southern California Gas Co.

Deukmejian also received major contributions from traditionally active statewide associations, such as $15,000 from the California Medical Assn. And he received large cash donations from individuals, such as $25,000 from Howard P. Marguleas of Rancho Mirage, an executive of Sun World, a citrus company based in the Coachella Valley.

The largest individual contributor to Bradley during the July 1 to Dec. 31 reporting period was Ira Distenfield, a Century City stock brokerage executive who gave $12,500.

“Helping Tom Bradley get to Sacramento is one the most important things I can do in 1986,” said Distenfield, a registered Republican who has become one of Bradley’s staunchest supporters.

“I think Tom Bradley is probably the closest example of what I imagine a public official should be. . . . I just hope there are more people like me because there’s no question that to run for public office you need a war chest and the mayor’s in for a rocky fight with the competition.”

Times staff writer Jerry Gillam in Sacramento contributed to this story. MONEY IN GOVERNOR’S RACE

Deukmejian Bradley 1985 Fund-raising $4,800,000 $2,200,000 1985 Spending 1,100,000 1,800,000 Balance on hand 3,900,000 718,000

Source: Secretary of State