Gallegly Rounds Up $354,197 for House Race : Politics: In a neighboring district, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson has an early fund-raising lead over his potential challengers.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) has amassed $354,197 in campaign contributions to help him turn back challenges to his reelection in the new congressional district that covers most of Ventura County.

Gallegly’s campaign treasury dwarfs that of Democrat Anita Perez Ferguson, his only declared opponent in the 23rd Congressional District.

She reported having a mere $1,207 in cash for her fledgling campaign as of Dec. 31, according to the most recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Although the campaign is just getting under way, Gallegly’s lopsided financial advantage gives him a tremendous head start in reaching voters through mass mailings of campaign brochures, as well as through radio, cable television and newspaper ads.

“To quote Jesse Unruh, ‘Money is the mother’s milk of politics,’ ” said Jim Dantona, a Democratic strategist in Simi Valley. “Money is worth twice as much upfront than it is in the end of the campaign. It helps a candidate get out of the gate quickly and stay there.”

In the 24th Congressional District, which covers Thousand Oaks and western portions of Los Angeles County, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) has an early fund-raising lead over his would-be Republican rivals.

In preparation for the tough reelection fight he faces this fall, Beilenson overcame his longstanding reluctance to solicit campaign funds in non-election years and raised $102,178 in the last six months of 1991, according to his campaign financial statement.

The two Ventura County congressional districts were created last month when the state Supreme Court approved new political boundaries. The political map is redrawn every 10 years to reflect population changes.

So far, Gallegly is the only Republican candidate in the 23rd District, which includes Carpinteria and all of Ventura County except Thousand Oaks.

Despite his financial advantage, Gallegly said he has no intention of slowing down. “It’s nine months until November, and a lot of things can happen,” he said. “We are going to campaign aggressively and fund raising is an integral part.”

Ferguson, a Santa Barbara educational consultant, could not be reached for comment. Her financial statement showed that her small amount of cash is offset by $48,692 in indebtedness from an unsuccessful congressional campaign in 1990.

All but $4,000 of that debt is from a personal loan that Ferguson made to her campaign. The rest resulted from an “unauthorized contribution” to her campaign from a Democratic group in Puerto Rico that has yet to be reimbursed, according to the finance statement.

Ventura County Public Defender Kenneth I. Clayman, another Democrat considering the congressional race, did not raise the $5,000 needed to trigger the federal reporting requirement.

“He’s $354,000 ahead of me,” Clayman said of Gallegly’s contributions. “I hope that will be an important issue in the campaign. I think the voters do not want to elect someone who is beholden to special interest money.”

Gallegly accepts donations from special interest political action committees, or PACs, but said most of his contributions come from individual donors in his district, who “probably make up 25% to 30% of our contributions.”

However, he said, he would like Congress to ban PAC contributions.

Unlike most congressional incumbents, Beilenson accepts no PAC money because he believes that it undermines the integrity of the political process.

Most of his contributions came from 600 residents of Los Angeles’ Westside who live in his old 23rd District. Beilenson said he is planning to spend about $400,000. He reported having $77,825 in cash on hand.

So far, no other Democrat has announced in the June 2 primary election.

Republicans, in contrast, appeared headed for a costly internecine battle in the primary. Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) is considering entering the race, and three lesser-known Republicans have also vowed to seek the party’s nomination.

International trade consultant Jim Salomon of Beverly Hills raised $20,000 in the second half of 1991, and businessman Sang Korman of Calabasas garnered $57,800, their reports show. Both have lost two previous races for Congress.

Salomon has $9,200 in cash on hand and Korman $38,100, reports showed. Korman still owes himself $559,000 from personal loans he made to his previous campaigns.

Reseda mortuary owner Jon Lorenzen, who also is a declared candidate, could not be reached for comment.

McClintock reported that he has $59,100 left over from a federal campaign committee established when he considered a congressional bid in 1986.

McClintock said Monday that he has calculated that he could also convert another $30,000 from his Assembly campaign committee if he decides to join the race. Federal campaign law allows state candidates to convert only those contributions that would be allowed under federal law, which means individual contributions of up to $1,000 per election and no corporate or labor union funds.

McClintock is conducting polls in the new district in an effort to determine whether to seek the nomination, Republican strategists say. But the conservative lawmaker appears to be champing at the bit to draw the ideological lines between himself and Beilenson.

“In my opinion,” McClintock said, “Beilenson can spend all the money in the world and not be able to explain the damage he’s done to middle-class voters” in the district.

Beilenson, meanwhile, responded by turning the other cheek.

“I’ve heard good things about him,” Beilenson said of McClintock. “He’s supposed to be a bright person, albeit pretty conservative in his views, and there’s no reason, if he gets into this against me and wins his own primary, that we can’t debate in a reasonable and civil manner.”

Kenneth R. Weiss reported from Ventura and Alan C. Miller from Washington. Times staff writer Jack Cheevers also contributed to this story.