Dinner Nets $142,000 for Hall’s Costly Mayoral Bid

Councilwoman Jan Hall netted about $142,000 in her first big fund-raiser for next year’s mayoral race, according to her campaign coordinator.

That means that Hall raised more money in a single evening than she spent in her record-setting reelection campaign last year, but less than the $165,000 that Mayor Ernie Kell said he raised at his own kickoff fund-raiser in May.

Hall’s $150 to $250-a-plate dinner at the Long Beach Airport Marriott hotel Wednesday night was in keeping with what is expected to be the most expensive campaign in the city’s history.

Both Hall and Kell have said they expect to spend about $250,000 each on the campaign next spring for the $67,000-a-year job. The winner will be the city’s first full-time mayor and the first elected citywide.

Hall holds the current local campaign spending record of $125,000, spent during her City Council reelection race last year.

A homemaker and mother of four, Hall is serving her third term on the council as a representative of the 3rd District. She also is president of the board of the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

Fred Karger, a political consultant coordinating Hall’s campaign, said about 360 people attended the councilwoman’s dinner billed as “A Salute to Long Beach--the International City.” He said that while several companies and organizations, such as the Long Beach District Board of Realtors, bought whole tables, most of those attending bought a pair of tickets.

“She has proven she is truly a citywide candidate with the ability to raise this type of money. She’s proven to be a formidable candidate,” Karger said.