Beam, Roth Neck and Neck in Fund Raising Since July

Orange Mayor Jim Beam had only $7,124 in cash on hand--and $130,500 in debts--as of Sept. 30 in his race for Orange County supervisor, mandatory campaign finance statements showed Tuesday.

Beam’s opponent in the battle for the 4th District supervisorial seat, Anaheim Mayor Donald R. Roth, showed $35,406 cash on hand and $48,510 in outstanding debts.

Both men reported raising about the same amount of money since July 1: $83,845 for Roth and $84,990 for Beam. So far this year Roth has raised $253,949, including $25,000 in unpaid loans, and has spent $350,608, his report showed. Beam has raised $304,644, including $130,500 in loans, and has spent $391,421.

In the two-month period covered in the reports filed at the county registrar’s office, Roth did far better than Beam in getting large donations. He reported receiving 38 contributions of $1,000 or more, to only 18 for Beam.

The two mayors are running for the seat being vacated by Supervisor Ralph B. Clark, who is retiring at the end of this year after 16 years on the board. Beam and Roth finished first and second in the June primary, defeating two other opponents.

Beam’s financial receipts included $5,000 from the union representing the county’s firefighters, a union that endorsed former Rep. Jerry M. Patterson in the primary and switched to Beam for the general election.

Roth’s largest contributor in the July-September period was William E. Cooper, who donated $2,620. Cooper is a businessman and Roth adviser who filed a lawsuit against Beam last January stemming from a business venture several years ago. Beam said the lawsuit was politically motivated, which Cooper denied, and the court action became a campaign issue when Beam won an order sealing some of the documents filed with the court.