Frugal Bernardi Had to Spend Big : $210,000 Campaign Was Councilman’s Most Expensive

It cost Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi more than $200,000 to defeat his challenger, Lyle Hall, who outspent the incumbent in the June runoff election by nearly 20% but plunged his failed campaign into debt, campaign finance statements show.

Bernardi, a critic of lavish campaign spending and author of the city’s strict $500-per-donor limit on contributions, spent more money than in any other race in his 28 years as a councilman. The closest was in 1981 when he spent about $86,000.

He garnered $184,202 in the first six months of the year from a wide array of contributors, including large Los Angeles developers--several with projects planned in his district--City Hall lobbyists and San Fernando Valley business people, the campaign-spending statements show.

“I felt I had to raise as much money as I could,” Bernardi said Wednesday. “I knew that it wouldn’t be as much as my opponent, with all of his outside supporters. But in the end, I spent the least amount of money and got the most votes.”

Biting Hall Mailers

The Bernardi-Hall race to represent the northeast San Fernando Valley’s 7th District cost almost $500,000, still less than other contested council races. The 7th District campaign involved a series of biting Hall mailers that attacked the 77-year-old councilman’s age and council attendance record.

Bernardi won the election 55%-45%. He spent $210,815.

Hall, a Los Angeles city fire captain and former president of the firefighter’s union, spent $261,291, records show. His contributions during that time totaled $287,733 and came largely from firefighters, labor unions and their leaders, campaign statements show.

In the critical final month of campaigning before the June 6 election, Hall raised $114,815, nearly twice as much as Bernardi.

But Hall said Wednesday that he overestimated the amount of contributions he would receive in the final weeks, and his campaign slipped $79,279 into debt. He said he owes the money to pollsters, printers and consultants. He said he is committed to running for office again and will ask his long-time supporters to help him retire the debt.

Bernardi, pressured by union members and firefighters who volunteered to help Hall’s campaign, hired his own workers in the final months of the runoff. The councilman paid eight district residents between $100 and $400 to distribute flyers and make phone calls.

Picus Spent $263,347

In another San Fernando Valley race, Councilwoman Joy Picus spent $263,347 in her primary race against five opponents, the campaign statements show. The Picus funds represented nearly three times the amount that four of her opponents combined spent. One opponent’s campaign records have not yet been processed by the Los Angeles city clerk’s office.

Picus was reelected with 52% of the vote. Her closest challenger in the April primary, Peter Ireland, a deputy of Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana, received 17% of the vote and spent $29,793. Jeanne Nemo, a Republican activist, garnered 15% of the vote and spent $33,445.

The West San Fernando Valley councilwoman said Wednesday that her goal in the race was to “raise as much as I could and spend it fully to win in the primary.”

Los Angeles school board member Julie Korenstein raised and spent almost twice as much money as her runoff opponent Gerald E. Horowitz, a junior high school principal, in her successful bid to retain her West Valley seat.

Korenstein’s fund-raising efforts were bolstered by strong support from members of United Teachers-Los Angeles, who were in the midst of a bitter strike during the election. The incumbent, who was sympathetic to the union, spent $185,363, much of it in contributions from teachers.

Horowitz, who had accused Korenstein of playing to the teachers’ union, spent $93,298.

Campaign-spending statements showed the following for other Valley-area politicians:

*Councilman Michael Woo, who represents part of Studio City, outspent his leading challenger 12 to 1, doling out $339,428 to defeat challenger Bernie Lohr-Schmidt, who spent $27,828. Woo used his money largely on consultant fees and targeted mailings.

*Councilman Marvin Braude, whose predominately Westside district stretches into Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills, ran unopposed in the primary and donated most of his $119,276 in campaign funds to charities, mainly in $1,000 contributions. He contributed to 10 Valley groups, including Project Heavy, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Fair Housing Council.

* Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes Sherman Oaks and parts of North Hollywood, spent $278,737 to defeat challenger Laura Lake, who spent $216,090.

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