California Elections : THE FINANCES : If Money Greases Politics, California Is Well-Tuned State

Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced) spent $1,328 to buy some wine goblets, while Rep. Gene Chappie (R-Chico) plunked down $248.88 for a hog and $478.68 for a pair of lambs. Richmond Democrat George Miller, meanwhile, paid $297.09 for gas to blow up dinner balloons, and Newport Beach Republican Robert E. Badham shelled out $6,000 for a used Cadillac.

Money is the grease that lubricates the machinery of politics, and campaign records on file at the Federal Election Commission show that California congressmen keep their machines well-oiled. Vast amounts of cash pass through their campaign treasuries even in non-election years, much of it spent on offbeat items that seem far removed from the business of getting into office and holding on to it.

From the beginning of 1985 through last March, records show, campaign committees for the state’s 45 congressmen have raked in a whopping $7.65 million in contributions--which averages more than $170,000 apiece to run their campaigns, giving incumbents a large leg up on any challengers. And fund-raising for all candidates, incumbents and challengers alike, can only be expected to accelerate in the days before the June 3 primary and November general election.

From Rent to Liquor

During that same 15-month period, campaign committees of delegation members spent a total of $5.9 million--an average of $131,143 apiece--on everything from office rent, postage and polls to liquor, baby sitters and dry cleaning.

The averages are deceiving, however, as can be seen in a comparison of Democrats Leon E. Panetta of Monterey and Ronald V. Dellums of Oakland, both of whom have firm holds on their congressional seats:

Panetta raised only $16,712 during the 15 months and spent $27,145, tapping excess funds from previous campaigns. On the other hand, Dellums--Congress’ foremost torchbearer for the far left--tapped contributors for more than $615,000 and spent $538,277, far outstripping any other California House member in both categories.

Dellums spends much of his money to get money. Unlike many colleagues who host big fund-raising parties or routinely draw large gifts from special-interest groups, Dellums derives the bulk of his campaign income from sophisticated, nationwide direct-mail solicitations sent to names on a select list of 28,000 activists from anti-nuclear, civil rights and other so-called “progressive” movements.

Big Returns, Overhead

The cash returns from such a technique are large, but so is the overhead. In the first three months of this year alone, records show, Dellums raised $220,856 but spent $191,609--most of it on expenses associated with getting out pleas for money. Nearly $144,000 went to one Berkeley-based direct-mail firm, Mal Warwick & Associates, whose owner is a member of Dellums’ campaign committee.

Dellums acknowledges that his fund-raising methods are inefficient, but he argues that they free him from external pressures.

“There are two ways to raise money,” he says. “You can get a lot from a few people or a little from a lot of people. . . . This gives me a broad enough base so I can feel free to be a progressive, and I don’t have to answer to anyone’s tune.”

However, unlike Dellums, some lawmakers collect a lot but spend very little, wrapping themselves in a kind of green protective armor of cash that could scare off potential challengers.

Republican Rep. David Dreier of La Verne, who has a safe San Gabriel Valley seat, is sitting on a cash hoard of more than $870,000, second in the entire House only to Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.). “As a Boy Scout, I was always taught to be prepared,” Dreier said.

Incumbent Cash

Because Democratic map makers gerrymandered district lines when they were last redrawn in 1982, most incumbents in the state have little trouble getting reelected. Yet, at the end of March, 10 of them had war chests of more than $200,000.

One of them is Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica), who spent very little on his 1984 reelection bid and got a last-minute scare from a Republican challenger backed heavily by fundamentalist religious groups. This time around, Levine has built his campaign account up to $517,875, much of it pledged at one huge fund-raising event last year.

“Part of the reason to raise it is so you don’t have to spend it,” confessed Bill Andresen, Levine’s administrative assistant. “It’s kind of like nuclear weapons. You build them so you never have to use them. It’s deterrence. You get the message across to potential opponents that it’s going to be very expensive.”

Oddly, the few incumbents who analysts believe could face stiff challenges in November have relatively puny bank accounts. Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), outspoken advocate of right-wing causes, had raised $457,046 in the 15 months that ended March 31, but he spent $452,107 and showed cash on hand of only $28,846.

Shaky Ground

Of Democrats on potentially shaky ground, Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park) had only $33,613 on hand, while Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) showed a balance of only $53,221 in his accounts. Unlike Dornan, however, neither Martinez nor Beilenson had raised or spent very much.

By the standards of his fellow Californians in Congress, the campaign treasury of Newport Beach’s Badham is also modest. But what he does with the proceeds has become a focus of controversy in his primary battle with GOP newcomer Nathan Rosenberg.

In addition to frequent charges by critics about Badham’s travel abroad at taxpayer expense, Rosenberg recently lodged another accusation, saying the lawmaker has extensively used campaign funds to cover personal expenses.

Badham responded that Rosenberg fails to understand federal campaign spending rules. “Clearly, all of my expenses are totally legal and related in all respects to the performance of my political role and that of my family,” he told an Orange County press conference earlier this month.

$6,000 Cadillac

Badham’s campaign recently paid $6,000 to buy a 1982 Cadillac that the congressman’s office had been leasing for his use in the district. Bill Schreiber, Badham’s press secretary, said accountants had determined that owning a car was cheaper for the campaign, in the long run, than renting vehicles or paying mileage charges to staffers.

Similarly, Schreiber defended as proper other purchases, including thousands of dollars for food, liquor and flowers for entertaining constituents at Badham’s home, gifts for constituents and supporters, dry-cleaning bills and a $371 dress for Badham’s wife to wear at an April fund-raising function.

People in Orange County expect their congressman to live up to many social as well as civic commitments, Schreiber explained. “This is a very socially conscious area,” he said. “People have more events than, say, a district in Nebraska.”

Although the number of transactions may be higher in Badham’s case than for any of his colleagues, he is by no means alone in showing unusual expenditures from his campaign accounts.

Livestock Buys

Both Chico’s Chappie and Merced’s Coelho, for example, on occasion buy farm animals at county fair junior livestock auctions.

A Coelho aide explained that the lawmaker likes to buy rabbits because his name in Portuguese means “rabbit.”

Chappie said he buys livestock to boost local 4-H programs and turns the animals back to the auctioneers for resale as soon as he gets them. “Contrary to popular belief, I have not built a huge herd of animals at taxpayer expense,” declared Chappie, who is retiring from office at the end of the year.

THE CALIFORNIA MONEY GAME These figures reflect campaign receipts and expenditures for the 15 months through March 31, and cash on hand as of March 31, for California’s 45 House members. Republicans are shown in italics. Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego county legislators are in districts 21-45. Dist. Congressman Receipts Expenditures Cash on hand 1 Douglas H. Bosco $90,424 $107,291 $5,549 2 Gene Chappie* 117,091 112,103 45,068 3 Robert T. Matsui 340,777 218,467 400,130 4 Vic Fazio 272,512 130,709 176,495 5 Sala Burton 113,713 71,755 137,996 6 Barbara Boxer 165,302 127,331 94,151 7 George Miller 196,325 108,931 265,996 8 Ronald V. Dellums 615,489 538,277 83,142 9 Pete Stark 313,224 298,666 18,694 10 Don Edwards 91,128 74,283 31,647 11 Tom Lantos 176,789 125,503 430,765 12 Ed Zschau* 20,208 235,173 0 13 Norman Y. Mineta 230,180 144,462 248,586 14 Norman D. Shumway* 134,877 59,977 147,711 15 Tony Coelho 438,407 299,281 299,366 16 Leon E. Panetta 16,712 27,145 54,391 17 Charles Pashayan Jr.* 25,846 29,217 54,094 18 Richard H. Lehman 95,065 131,169 7,830 19 Robert Lagomarsino* 175,483 101,709 338,228 20 William M. Thomas* 126,710 49,181 292,585 21 Bobbi Fiedler* 66,134 380,377 100 22 Carlos J. Moorhead* 140,284 69,193 359,998 23 Anthony C. Beilenson 57,932 30,299 53,221 24 Henry A. Waxman 94,063 48,111 137,894 25 Edward R. Roybal 30,325 24,241 195,688 26 Howard L. Berman 199,578 156,583 59,536 27 Mel Levine 563,972 144,566 517,875 28 Julian C. Dixon 79,510 50,354 64,744 29 Augustus F. Hawkins 33,928 15,560 76,472 30 Matthew G. Martinez 38,439 17,565 33,613 31 Mervyn M. Dymally 244,730 234,257 12,898 32 Glenn M. Anderson 291,830 203,178 94,796 33 David Dreier* 334,324 70,795 870,013 34 Esteban E. Torres 101,240 45,298 110,591 35 Jerry Lewis* 41,545 51,144 163,883 36 George E. Brown Jr. 143,566 105,698 65,150 37 Al McCandless* 34,989 29,356 33,775 38 Robert K. Dornan* 457,046 452,107 28,846 39 William E. Dannemeyer* 79,073 92,520 63,514 40 Robert E. Badham* 96,852 102,383 54,804 41 Bill Lowery* 263,021 155,860 191,577 42 Daniel E. Lungren* 91,342 132,720 61,094 43 Ron Packard* 48,931 51,916 49,520 44 Jim Bates 174,685 95,264 79,682 45 Duncan Hunter* 187,902 151,463 158,007

* Senate candidates Source: Federal Election Commission