Edgerton Tops Campaign Fund-Raiser List : Politics: 2nd District incumbent collects $26,000 more than any other City Council candidate.

The City Council election is still days away, but 2nd District incumbent Wallace Edgerton has already won one campaign contest--the money match.

Edgerton, a stockbroker and 17-year council veteran, has collected $89,000 since January, 1991,, about $26,000 more than any other candidate in the April 14 primary races.

His fat donor list reflects the powerful interests that have a stake in his district, which picked up part of downtown and one of the nation’s busiest ports during last year’s reapportionment. Shippers, port commissioners, developers, real estate concerns and unions have all contributed heavily to Edgerton’s campaign treasury.

His fund raising dwarfs that of his challengers, Cal State Long Beach professor Alan Lowenthal, who has collected nearly $30,000, and substitute teacher Daniel K. Rosenberg, who has raised less than $1,000 and thus doesn’t have to file a financial statement.

Edgerton’s success with well-heeled financial donors has not gone unnoticed by Lowenthal, whose biggest single financial backer is Long Beach Area Citizens Involved, a civic group he recently headed.

Asserting that Edgerton is awash in special-interest money, Lowenthal has said Edgerton vowed in a 1984 newspaper interview that he would “rather go out fighting than take 10 cents more” from wealthy developers and real estate associations--who were at the time supporting Edgerton’s opponent.

“The realities of politics are that all legislators take contributions,” Edgerton responded. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’t survive.” As for his 1984 declaration, he said he is now accepting money from developers because he had succeeded in changing the zoning in his district to preserve neighborhoods.

Second to Edgerton in fund raising is Clarence Smith, running for reelection in the 6th District. Complete figures for Smith were not available because he was late filing his most recent financial statement. But previous financial reports and his accountant’s estimates indicate that Smith has raised about $63,000 since the beginning of last year.

Among Smith’s major donors are the local firefighter and police unions--which contributed generously to all three incumbents facing challenges in this election--and the Long Beach Community Improvement League, a social service organization that also gave money to Doris Topsy-Elvord, Smith’s best-financed opponent.

Topsy-Elvord, a Civil Service commissioner, has raised about $26,000, including a $5,000 loan to herself. She picked up large donations from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee as well as a regional association of apartment owners. She also got a few contributions from the Cambodian community.

In the 4th District, Charles G. (Jerry) Westlund’s endorsement by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. paid off with $3,500 from that anti-tax group. Real estate organizations have also taken a liking to Westlund, an auctioneer who loaned himself $15,500 and raised an additional $37,000 in his bid against council veteran Thomas Clark. Westlund has collected substantial checks from the Long Beach District Board of Realtors, along with the Apartment Assn., California Southern Cities.

Noteworthy among individual contributors is Port Commissioner Roy E. Hearrean, who gave Westlund $1,500. Hearrean is a close ally of Mayor Ernie Kell, who was nearly beaten by Clark in the 1990 mayoral election.

Clark has been popular with the local firefighters and police unions, which have each contributed $3,000 to his campaign war chest since early 1991. Westlund has seized on the police union donations, linking them to Clark’s support of the Police Department in the debate over whether the Long Beach force should be replaced with citywide sheriff’s patrols.

“I say Tom Clark sold his vote,” Westlund charged.

“It’s interesting (Westlund is) not saying he won’t take any money from realtors,” retorted Clark, who noted that the police union has sometimes supported him and sometimes supported his opponents in past elections.

Other major donors to Clark include Long Beach Community Hospital, where his wife works as a medical librarian, builder Gary M. Peters and the Southland Political Action Committee, which promotes candidates friendly to gay rights.

Clark has collected about $42,000 since January, 1991, some of which was used to pay bills from his mayoral campaign.

Other candidates in the primary races are at most raising only a few thousand dollars, relying on their own funds and small contributions from individual supporters.

Long Beach Campaign Contributions

A sampling of major or noteworthy donors contributing to Long Beach City Council candidates for Tuesday’s election. Contributions were reported on campaign statements filed since Jan. 1, 1991. Clarence Smith missed the deadline for filing his March statement, and it was not available.

District 2 Wallace Edgerton Long Beach Firefighters Assn.: $3,500 Long Beach Police Officers Assn.: $2,250 Mayor Ernie Kell: $2,100 Gagnon Construction and Guy Gagnon: $1,925 Maersk Good Government Fund and Maersk Pacific Ltd.: $1,750 Jong Sun Lee, Hanjin Shipping Co.: $1,750 Income Property Political Action Committee: $1,750 California Real Estate Political Action Committee: $1,750 Port Commissioner Joel Friedland: $1,425 Southland Political Action Committee: $875

Alan Lowenthal Long Beach Area Citizens Involved Political Action Committee: $1,500 Deborah S. Malumed, physician: $1,100 Joel D. Epstein, physician: $750 Toby J. Rothschild, executive director of Legal Aid Foundation of L. B.: $375 Bixby Medical Center: $350 Planning Commissioner Anthony D. Tortorice: $200 Lambda Democratic Club: $100

District 4 Thomas Clark Long Beach Firefighters Assn.: $3,000 Long Beach Police Officers Assn.: $3,000 Robert Horne, developer: $2,000 Executives of FHP Inc.: $1,500 Gary M. Peters, builder: $1,000 Long Beach Community Hospital: $1,000 Christopher R. Pook, Grand Prix president: $700 Arco Transportation: $700 Southland Political Action Committee: $500 Former Gov. George Deukmejian: $200

Charles G. (Jerry) Westlund Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.: $3,500 Long Beach District Board of Realtors: $1,500 Port Commissioner Roy E. Hearrean: $1,500 Michael R. Payne, real estate management: $1,000 Apartment Assn., California Southern Cities: $900 Employees of Matlow-Kennedy Corp., real estate brokerage: $750

District 6 Clarence Smith Long Beach Police Officers Assn.: $2,150 Long Beach Community Improvement League: $1,980 Long Beach Firefighters Assn.: $1,740 Notrica’s 32nd Street Market: $1,500 Pacific Hospital of Long Beach: $990 David Malmuth, vice president, The Walt Disney Co.: $990 Kathryn A. Choppin, wife of IDM Corp. chairman Michael J. Choppin: $990 Jacqueline Kell, teacher and Mayor Kell’s wife: $675 Charles Townsend, public safety advisory commissioner: $628 Sen. Ralph C. Dills Committee: $600

Doris Topsy-Elvord California Real Estate Political Action Committee: $1,500 Apartment Assn., California Southern Cities: $750 Long Beach Community Improvement League: $750 Long Beach City Employees Service: $250 Planning Commissioner Anthony D. Tortorice: $198 James H. Gray, president, Harbor Bank: $100 Vora Huy Kanthoul, president, Cambodian Business Assn.: $100 Source: Candidate campaign statements