ELECTIONS / CONGRESSIONAL RACES : Beilenson Leads McClintock in Fund Raising : Campaign: The Democrat has four times as much cash on hand as his Republican rival in the 24th District race.

Democrat Anthony Beilenson, displaying unexpected fund-raising muscle, banked more than twice as much money as Republican Tom McClintock since June, and has four times more cash available as they enter the final phase of their race for a congressional seat based in the west San Fernando Valley.

Beilenson, a Los Angeles congressman, took in $280,695 between July 1 and Sept. 30, while McClintock, a state assemblyman from Thousand Oaks, received $114,947, reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission on Thursday said.

With 2 1/2 weeks remaining in the campaign, Beilenson has $261,286 in cash on hand and McClintock has $66,021, the reports said. The men are battling in the 24th Congressional District, a politically moderate, suburban region stretching from Sherman Oaks to Malibu and Thousand Oaks.

The race has become a high-visibility, ideological showdown, with Beilenson, a veteran liberal, and McClintock, a staunch conservative, crossing swords over abortion, taxes, the environment and defense policy. Beilenson drew on lawyers, liberal Hollywood figures and environmentalists for funds, and McClintock turned to business and conservative groups.

Meanwhile, reports showed Republican Howard (Buck) McKeon, a Santa Clarita clothing retailer and banker, with a big fund-raising lead over two opponents in the 25th Congressional District. In other Valley-area districts, incumbents held commanding leads over little-known challengers.

The reports show that Beilenson has raised $440,697 since Jan. 1, and McClintock $269,093. McClintock spent about $200,000 to beat eight other Republicans in the June primary election, leaving his campaign coffers badly depleted, while Beilenson faced no primary opposition.

Beilenson spurted to a heavy fund-raising lead this fall despite his policy of not accepting contributions from special-interest political action committees, or PACs, the lobbying arms of corporations, labor unions and other groups.

PAC money is a staple of many political fund-raising operations, and some observers wondered at the race’s outset if Beilenson could mount a well-financed race without them. His contributions came instead from about 1,200 individual givers.

About 37% of McClintock’s donations, or $43,469, since July 1 came from PACs and other organized political committees. They included oil companies, developers, the Coors beer company and other business and conservative groups.

Beilenson’s campaign manager, Craig Miller, reiterated his attacks on McClintock on Thursday for accepting PAC contributions, arguing that they obligate him to special interests.

“The sad fact is that were it not for contributions from special-interest groups, Tom McClintock would not be able to wage his campaign,” Miller said.

McClintock said many of his PAC contributions came from employee groups, not corporations.

He also sought to turn the tables, citing tens of thousands of dollars in contributions that Beilenson has received from lawyers, environmentalists and Hollywood figures. The assemblyman criticized his rival for hypocrisy, saying such donors constitute special interests even though they are not PACs.

Among the prominent entertainment-industry figures listed in Beilenson’s report were actor Richard Dreyfuss, director Sydney Pollack and producer Norman Lear. Numerous lawyers also donated, including Tarzana land-use lawyer Benjamin Reznik, who kicked in $1,000.

Also, Beilenson received money from several prominent environmentalists, including Lucy Blake, head of the San Francisco-based League of Conservation Voters, and Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency that buys mountain land for parks.

Edmiston recently held a fund-raising party, closed to reporters, at his Pacific Palisades residence for Beilenson, who authored legislation creating the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Edmiston’s agency acquires land for the recreation area, a vast public park extending from Griffith Park to Point Mugu in Ventura County.

Miller said the congressman has a long record of supporting environmental causes and many Hollywood figures give him money because they “prefer a moderate like Beilenson over an extremist like McClintock.”

Miller said Beilenson has never taken donations from organized attorney groups and is “not the slightest bit influenced” by donations from individual lawyers.

McClintock attacked Beilenson for receiving money from lawyers, saying the Democrat has voted often in Congress to create “enormous new litigation opportunities for lawyers at the expense of small-business people in the district.”

He cited Beilenson’s support for the 1990 Civil Rights Act, saying it puts small-business owners in danger of being sued if their “work force does not match the racial balance of the community.”

McClintock called Beilenson’s fund-raising lead a “daunting disparity” but noted that he beat two primary opponents who had far more money than he did.

Campaign reports showed that McKeon, the favorite in the GOP-dominated 25th District--which covers the Antelope, Santa Clarita and northern San Fernando valleys--received $58,917 between July 1 and Sept. 30, including $10,525 from PACs. His total was far higher than Democrat James Gilmartin, who reported $4,830 in donations during the period, and independent Rick Pamplin, a Ross Perot supporter, who said he received about $4,300.

But Gilmartin, a Santa Clarita lawyer who loaned his campaign $100,000 during the primary, reported having $81,445 on hand for the last days of the race, far more than McKeon’s $26,987. Pamplin said he will loan his campaign between $10,000 and $30,000 to buy cable television time and other advertising.

Pamplin attacked McKeon for accepting PAC contributions, which he described as “a form of legalized bribery,” saying the groups gave McKeon money with an eye toward influencing his votes if he is elected to Congress.

McKeon’s campaign manager, Armando Azarloza, defended the donations.

“Buck has more integrity than that,” he said. Referring to McKeon’s rivals, he said, “I don’t know if they would be controlled if somebody gave them those bucks, but Buck isn’t.”

Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale) and Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) all have huge advantages over their lesser-known challengers--even though the incumbents did relatively little fund raising since July 1.

Berman reported raising $41,350 since July 1 and spending $37,976. He has raised $65,730 since the beginning of the year and has $155,152 on hand, including funds previously in his campaign treasury. Berman took in $33,950 from PACs and $7,400 from individuals.

His Republican opponent, Gary Forsch, raised $15,749 during the reporting period, bringing his total to $41,840. Forsch spent $16,872 and reported $350 on hand.

Moorhead raised $67,756 and spent $174,228. He took in $40,950 from PACs and $26,806 from individuals. Moorhead, who has raised $133,106 since Jan. 1, reported that he has $622,602 remaining.

His Democratic opponent, Doug Kahn, garnered $27,438 since July 1 and spent $51,408. He received no PAC money during the recent period. Kahn, who has raised $49,539 since Jan. 1, has $15,702 available and a $30,200 debt.

Waxman raised only $3,660 during the period and spent $10,594. He has taken in $58,820 since Jan. 1 and has $689,512 on hand. His Republican opponent, Mark Robbins, raised $55,355 since July 1 and spent $65,258. Robbins, who took in $77,210 since Jan. 1, has $3,435 left.