Flow of Campaign Funds Runs From Trickle to Deluge : Politics: War chests of City Council candidates are light in El Segundo, heavy in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Like several of his rivals, Rancho Palos Verdes City Council candidate Steven Kuykendall is pulling in the bucks. Listing contributors ranging from a housewife to a conservative Republican political action committee, Kuykendall at last count had amassed more than $15,000.

In El Segundo, the pickings are slimmer for Janice Cruikshank and that city’s other council candidates. Cruikshank’s first fund-raiser, held earlier this month, drew only half a dozen people--the members of her campaign committee.

“It was an absolute bust. . . . I don’t know whether it’s the economic situation or what,” said Cruikshank, who has raised only $2,000, virtually tying with fellow candidate Michael Robbins.

Campaign funds are flowing at drastically different rates in the five South Bay cities holding council elections Tuesday. The war chests are fullest in Rancho Palos Verdes, where the heated six-way race for three council seats has generated more than $67,000 in campaign contributions.

On the low end of the scale is El Segundo, where the four-candidate contest to serve out former Councilman Jim Clutter’s unexpired term has attracted only $4,596. And between the two extremes, council candidates have come up with more than $60,000 in Hawthorne, $16,000 in Hermosa Beach and $11,000 in Rolling Hills Estates.

Accounting for the differences are factors ranging from a tough campaign finance law in El Segundo to a bitter development debate in Rancho Palos Verdes. But in all five cities, most candidates--especially challengers seeking name recognition--are taking their fund raising seriously.

The money, they say, is needed mostly to fuel direct mail campaigns, an increasingly important force in South Bay local elections. And an extensive contributor list, some of them say, is a key to establishing a credible campaign.

“If you’re not comfortable raising money, you’d better not be in this business,” said Kuykendall. “It’s Salesmanship 101. You’ve got to convince people that you’re the right person for the job and (say), ‘By the way, please write me a check to prove it.’ ”

In Rancho Palos Verdes, Kuykendall and Susan Brooks lead the pack in funds raised. Brooks took out a loan of $8,000 but has also done some soliciting, having collected more than $23,000 as of Oct. 19, the most recent deadline for campaign finance reports.

Candidates say the fund raising is aggressive partly because the race is wide open--two of the three council incumbents up for election stepped aside--and partly due to a bruising debate about whether to end a moratorium on development in a landslide area.

“The big issue seems to be the moratorium,” said candidate Dawn Henry. “There’s a lot of pressure. This is one of the last pieces of (developable) land left on the coastline in this area.”

The only council member in the contest, John McTaggart, had only raised $7,609 as of Oct. 19, his report shows. But McTaggart believes the advantages of incumbency will see him through.

“I’m not going to try to compete and go out and raise thousands and thousands of dollars to cram peoples’ mailboxes,” McTaggart said. “People have seen me on (cable) television during the council meetings, and they know what I stand for. So my campaign is much more low-key.”

In Rolling Hills Estates, there are also three seats up for grabs and only one incumbent. But with no burning issues, the contest--and the campaign fund raising--is less intense than in neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes.

The top fund-raiser in Rolling Hills Estates, challenger Robert Beck, attributes his $4,700 total mainly to caution.

“In the last council race there was mudslinging in last-minute mailers, so we wanted to be ready (in case it occurs),” he said. “The mudslinging has not gone on yet.”

In Hawthorne, council incumbents Steven Andersen and Ginny Lambert are vying for the vacant mayor’s seat and have each raised about $12,000.

Challenger Larry Guidi, meanwhile, has raised by far the most, $15,554, in the contest for the two regular Hawthorne council seats at stake. Front-runner Ainsworth--currently Hawthorne’s mayor--appears to be relying on her wide name recognition more than campaign cash.

“I probably won’t raise as much (as Guidi),” said Ainsworth, who had collected just $1,700 as of Oct. 19. “If I run a little short, I’ll just put some of my own money in.”

In Hermosa Beach and El Segundo, council candidates say their cities are small enough to make abundant campaign financing less crucial.

Said Hermosa council candidate Peter Mangurian, “People here are very interested and know right away what’s going on in an election. The people who don’t know don’t vote.”

El Segundo’s council candidates also cite the city’s new campaign-finance law, which limits contributions to $250 or less. Other South Bay cities with council elections Tuesday have no such limit except Hermosa Beach, where the maximum donation allowed is $249.

The two biggest fund-raisers in the El Segundo race, Cruikshank and Robbins, disagree on their city’s campaign donation limits, which also toughened reporting requirements for smaller contributions.

Cruikshank calls them too restrictive. “The firemen’s association had $500 to give me, and I had to turn them down,” she said.

And some of her backers, she said, have declined to give small donations because they can no longer do so without appearing on publicly available lists of contributors.

Robbins said the new law is doing what it was designed to do--cut down on the amount of special-interest money that can be used to influence council campaigns.

“It prevents real estate developers from using large sums of money to elect their people, who can then rezone property for their benefit,” he said, adding that the curbs have put a premium on grass-roots campaign financing.

“Now you have the traditional coffees or teas where people who support you will invite people over to their homes to meet you,” Robbins said. “If a candidate truly has support in the community, they should have no problem raising enough money to run a successful campaign.”

Paying the Price for Public Service The latest campaign finance reports show City Council candidates in five South Bay cities have raised a total of $160,742 running for office.

EL SEGUNDO

Michael Robbins: $2,174

Janice Cruikshank: $2,029

Steve Bower: $393

Frank Wong: $0*

HAWTHORNE

Larry Guidi: $15,554

Ginny Lambert (m): $12,365

Steven Andersen (m): $12,183

Jimmie Williams Jr.: $8,691

Martha Bails: $4,605

Paul Krehbiel: $3,188

Raymon Sulser: $1,997

Betty Ainsworth: $1,728

HERMOSA BEACH

Merna Marshall: $4,126

Sam Edgerton: $3,057

Mike D’Amico: $2,850

Roy McNally: $2,267

John Andren: $1,552

Gene Dreher: $834

Peter Mangurian: $620

Warner Lombardi: $550

Robert Benz: $397

John Ryan: $0*

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES

Robert Beck: $4,724

Barbara Rauch: $3,947

Mary Ann Olson: $1,506

Larry Goldsmith: $1,149

Peter Weber: $0*

RANCHO PALOS VERDES

Susan Brooks: $23,254

Steven Kuykendall: $15,332

Kay Bara: $8,792

John McTaggart: $7,610

Barbara Dye: $6,560

Dawn Henry: $6,438

Top Spending By City El Segundo: $4,596 Hawthorne: $60,311 Hermosa Beach: $16,253 Rancho Palos Verdes: $67,986 Rolling Hills Estates: $11,326

Amount Spent per Registered Voter El Segundo: .51 Hawthorne: $2.72 Hermosa Beach: $1.33 Rancho Palos Verdes: $2.57 Rolling Hills Estates: $2.15 SOURCE: Campaign finance statements filed with city clerks

* Candidates who filed forms saying they did not expect to spend more than $1,000

(m) Mayoral candidate