Boland Ahead of GOP Rivals in Fund Raising : Assembly: Republican candidates for Marian La Follette’s 38th District seat scramble for money.

Sprinting to an early fund-raising lead in the race to succeed Republican Assemblywoman Marian La Follette, realty broker Paula Boland has collected nearly twice as much money as her chief rival, La Follette aide Robert Wilcox.

According to campaign reports released Thursday, Boland, 50, raised $28,205 in her campaign for the GOP nomination in the 38th Assembly District, which covers the northern San Fernando Valley. Wilcox, 24, raised $14,713.

La Follette surprised political observers with her Feb. 27 announcement that she wouldn’t seek re-election to her Assembly seat, which she has held for 10 years. La Follette said she was leaving because state legislators shouldn’t serve more than a decade, but she reportedly also was worried about the health of her husband Jack, who has lymph cancer.

Winning the GOP nomination in the June 5 primary is tantamount to election in the district, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 87,000 to 74,500. Two Democrats also are seeking their party’s nomination, but neither is well-known.

La Follette’s unexpected retirement left Boland and Wilcox less than 13 weeks to campaign, sending them scrambling to tap old friends and political associates for money.

Boland’s campaign report said she has paid out nothing so far and accumulated $496 in unpaid bills, leaving her with her entire $28,205 still in the bank. Wilcox paid out $2,719 and reported $3,647 in unpaid bills.

“I’m very confident and deliriously happy,” Boland said. “Dollars can certainly translate to a win. But there’s a groundswell of people who live here and work here, and they are saying ‘We want you to win.’ ”

But Wilcox said he is “on target” with his fund raising and expects to meet his budget goal of $125,000.

“We’re going to be able to get our message out,” he said. “We have a cost-effective budget. This is only one portion of a 2 1/2-month campaign.”

Another Republican candidate in the race, business lawyer Robert L. Scott, reported that his only income was a $10,653 loan he made to his campaign. A fourth candidate, substitute schoolteacher Hal J. Styles, said he raised “not a nickel.”

A large chunk of Boland’s money came from business owners in Granada Hills and Northridge, where she has long been active in local chamber of commerce activities and GOP political campaigns.

She also reported contributions from supporters of GOP Assemblywoman Cathie Wright of Simi Valley and Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, both of whom have endorsed her.

The majority of Wilcox’s money came from longtime supporters of state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia) and La Follette, who together with her husband contributed $1,750. Wilcox also is a former aide to Davis, who has endorsed him.

Wilcox, who recently took a leave from his post as La Follette’s aide to run for her seat, said La Follette plans to host a fund-raising reception for him with Sacramento lobbyists at her home in the capital next week.

The event, originally set as a $500-a-head fund-raiser for La Follette, was rescheduled to benefit Wilcox after La Follette said she wouldn’t run again. But Wilcox said lobbyists now won’t be asked to pay a fixed amount.

Allen Hoffenblum, a Republican political consultant who is neutral in the race, downplayed the importance of Boland’s fund-raising lead.

“It’s obviously easier for her to raise money, because she’s been around longer,” he said, adding that Wilcox is “probably more dependent on others to do it for him than Paula is.”

Hoffenblum said he would be surprised if money alone determined the outcome of the race. “I think they’re both going to be adequately funded.”

In another local GOP primary struggle, Assemblywoman Wright again outstripped her opponent, legislative aide Hunt Braly, in fund raising.

Wright reported raising $44,667 between Jan. 1 and March 17 in her quest for a sixth term in the 37th Assembly District, which sprawls across portions of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Braly, an aide to Sen. Davis, raised $34,288.

Wright’s campaign reported having $165,139 in cash on hand, while Braly reported $67,981 still in the bank.