Developers Contributing to Galanter : Fund raising: The councilwoman was elected on a slow-growth platform four years ago. Critics say she has drifted away from the anti-development voters who elected her.

Elected on a slow-growth platform four years ago, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter has begun to rely heavily on pro-development interests for political donations, campaign records released Thursday show.

One lobbyist alone, Arthur K. Snyder, who has represented some of the biggest development projects in the city, collected 17 contributions totaling $8,500 for Galanter in the last six months of 1990, according to reports filed with the city clerk’s office. Galanter raised $25,418 from all sources during the period.

Galanter faces 14 potential opponents in the April 9 city primary election, some of whom say she has drifted too far from the anti-development voters who elected her. Unless they raised campaign funds in 1990, her opponents are not required to file any campaign reports until Feb. 28.

Marc Litchman, a consultant to Galanter’s reelection campaign, said Thursday there has been no change in Galanter’s policy toward donations from developers. “Our policy is that we don’t take money from developers who have controversial projects in our district,” he said.

Galanter intends to hold a number of “small-ticket” fund-raising events in the coming months to solicit funds from other donors, Litchman said.

Councilman Hal Bernson, another incumbent who faces a difficult fight, also received a substantial amount of money from developers, according to a campaign statement filed this week. At least $5,000 was contributed to his campaign from developers of the controversial Porter Ranch development, as well as their business associates and family members. Bernson was a major supporter of that project as it made its way through the City Council last year.

Seven rivals are challenging Bernson in the April election, the most he has faced in his three terms representing his northern San Fernando Valley 12th District.

Councilman Nate Holden, who is seeking reelection in his South-Central 10th District, raised money from a broad range of sources in the Los Angeles area and across the country. A prominent Chicago construction contractor and several of his relatives each donated the $500 maximum, as did Howard Hughes Properties Ltd. of Las Vegas.

Details of fund raising by 2nd District Councilman Joel Wachs, who also is running for reelection, were not available Thursday. Statements were unavailable for the other incumbents seeking reelection--John Ferraro in the 4th District and Richard Alatorre in the 14th District. Galanter, as a political outsider, pulled off a stunning upset when she soundly defeated City Council President Pat Russell in 1987. Galanter, an urban planner, had never before run for office, but she rode the crest of a protest by largely middle-class homeowners angered by new development in the area.

A group of 37 developers, lobbyists and other political insiders sponsored a lavish $500-a-ticket fund-raiser for Galanter at the Biltmore Hotel. Reporters were barred, but an invitation described the event as a “Max-Out Party,” a reference to the $500 maximum campaign contribution per individual allowed under law.

Among the hosts were lobbyists Steve Afriat, Dan Garcia, Maureen Kindel, Doug Ring and Fran Savitch whose clients include developers.

Four years ago, Garcia had lamented over Galanter’s election, saying, “This slow-growth movement, or whatever you call it, is by any other name a movement of white, middle-class, affluent people who are out for themselves and their own neighborhoods.”

Garcia said Thursday that he has revised his opinion about Galanter.

“I have found her to be certainly not pro-growth, but much more responsible in trying to evaluate the pros and cons of development than I thought she would be during the (1987) campaign,” he said.

“I think she’s tried to be fair and I’ve been pleased at the extent to which she’s tried to educate herself about the issues.”

Garcia said his contribution of $500 was solicited by the Galanter campaign.

Snyder also complained about Galanter’s election in 1987, saying, “It represents the triumph of a well-heeled electorate” who “want to freeze the world.”

Snyder said Thursday he, too, has reassessed Galanter. “She’s not at all pro-development, but she’s fair,” he said.