ELECTIONS: ASSEMBLY ROUNDUP : Boland Has Sizable Lead in Funding Over Allert

Republican Assembly candidate Paula Boland holds a commanding fund-raising lead over Democrat Irene Allert in their race to succeed retiring GOP Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday.

Boland, a Granada Hills real estate broker, raised $102,411 between July 1 and Sept. 30, while Allert, an educator and businesswoman from Kagel Canyon, took in $43,548 in the battle for the 38th Assembly District seat, reports said.

Boland also reported having nearly $54,000 in cash on hand--more than five times as much as Allert--as the race enters its final month.

The fund-raising lead gives the conservative Boland, 50, a boost in her effort to replace La Follette in the district, which arcs across the San Fernando Valley from Hidden Hills to La Crescenta and where Republicans outnumber Democrats 83,000 to 72,000. La Follette, who has held the seat for a decade, announced last winter that she is retiring at the end of this year.

“This means the people of the district have confidence in me and want me to be elected and that’s what I’m going to be,” Boland said.

Boland’s contributions included thousands of dollars from oil companies, real estate developers, car dealers, banks and other special-interest groups. She also collected substantial amounts from longtime Valley business and political associates, cashing in on her years of involvement in community, small business and GOP circles.

For example, her campaign reported receiving at least $18,000 from real estate interests, $4,000 from oil firms and $1,750 from banks.

The special-interest giving reflects that “I’ve worked in all those areas and helped people in all those areas,” Boland said.

Boland collected a number of $1,000 contributions from politically connected Republican businessmen in the Valley, including Victor Sampson, owner of Don Ricardo’s restaurants, and Arthur Pfefferman, president of the Donut Inn chain.

Boland, who opposes abortion, also received $500 from a company chaired by Carl Karcher, founder of the Carl’s Jr. restaurant chain and a frequent giver to anti-abortion causes.

The bulk of Allert’s contributions came from labor unions, women’s groups and local Democratic clubs, her report indicated. Allert, 46, supports abortion rights and has made the issue a central feature of her campaign.

Her biggest single donation--$4,000--came from the California Nurses Assn., which has been active in the campaigns of other candidates who favor abortion rights.

After telephoning “every labor group in the state” to ask for support, she received nearly $14,000 from unions, including the Teamsters and the California Teachers Assn.

In other San Fernando Valley-area races, incumbent legislators out-raised challengers by large margins for races in which no upsets are predicted.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) reported raising $224,000 and having $97,000 in cash on hand for the election. His GOP challenger, state vocational counselor Sam Ceravolo of Sun Valley, said he hasn’t “raised any and I haven’t spent any.”

Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) took in nearly $70,000, while her Democratic opponent, Dennis Petrie, a political neophyte who works as an administrator at a Chatsworth juvenile home, raised about $4,000.

Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Van Nuys) raised less than $16,000 but reported having a whopping $459,000 in cash on hand for the election. His Republican opponent, Helen Gabriel, a real estate broker from Van Nuys, could not be reached for comment Friday.