ELECTIONS / CAMPAIGN SPENDING : Gallegly Leads Perez Ferguson in Fund-Raising Race

Rep. Elton Gallegly has nearly twice the cash of his opponent, Democrat Anita Perez Ferguson, to spend in the final days of the heated campaign for a congressional seat representing most of Ventura County, according to campaign finance reports prepared Thursday.

Gallegly, a Simi Valley Republican, reported a cash balance of $242,784 as of Sept. 30 to finish his reelection campaign, contrasted with $126,087 to finance Perez Ferguson’s challenge effort, according to finance reports and campaign aides.

In the 24th Congressional District representing most of Thousand Oaks, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) holds a commanding fund-raising lead over Republican Assemblyman Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks.

Beilenson reported that he has $261,286, nearly four times as much cash as McClintock, even though Beilenson refuses to accept donations from special interest political action committees. Much of Beilenson’s contributions came from lawyers, environmentalists and Hollywood celebrities.

Gallegly, 48, and Perez Ferguson, 43, of Oxnard are vying for a seat in the 23rd Congressional District, which covers Carpinteria and all of Ventura County except most of Thousand Oaks.

In his report, Gallegly said he raised $138,534 from July 1 through Sept. 30 and spent $213,148 on his campaign during that time. His report showed that he has a reserve of $242,784 for the remaining weeks of campaigning before the Nov. 3 election.

“No matter how much last-minute special-interest money comes in for Ms. Perez Ferguson, Elton should have enough money to get his message across and counter any attacks that come from the other side,” John Frith, a Gallegly spokesman, said.

Perez Ferguson’s campaign manager, Sam Rodriguez, said late Thursday that an unofficial tally showed his candidate with $126,087 cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

She raised $196,721 in the three months ending Sept. 30 and spent about $140,000.

Rodriguez said he was not alarmed by the wide disparity in available funds.

“My initial reaction is that he will continue to outspend us over 2 to 1, but that’s OK. We’re a lot smarter and we’re a lot more effective with our money than he is.”

Federal contribution and expenditure reports for congressional candidates are supposed to be mailed to the Federal Election Commission in Washington on Thursday and postmarked by midnight.

During this three-month period, the three-term incumbent reported contributions from political action committees of $41,301, or 30% of his total contributions. For the year, PACs generated about 25% of Gallegly’s contributions, his report showed.

Gallegly’s political action committee contributions came from the real estate industry, farm groups, oil and aerospace organizations and utilities, among others.

Perez Ferguson received less than half of her latest contributions from PACs, Rodriguez said, with individual donors contributing about $20,000 more than the PACs did.

In the 24th Congressional District, Beilenson displayed unexpected fund-raising muscle by collecting $280,695 from July 1 to Sept. 30, despite his policy of not accepting contributions from special interest PACs. His contributions came from about 1,200 individual givers.

With 2 1/2 weeks remaining in the campaign, Beilenson has $261,286 cash on hand contrasted with McClintock’s $66,021, the reports said.

Beilenson, a liberal, and McClintock, a staunch conservative, have mounted a high-visibility ideological showdown in the district that stretches from Thousand Oaks to Malibu and the San Fernando Valley.

McClintock reported receiving $114,947 during the three-month reporting period. 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.

Among the prominent entertainment-industry figures listed in Beilenson’s report were actor Richard Dreyfuss, director Sydney Pollack and producer Norman Lear.

In the 22nd Congressional District, covering Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, the finance report of Republican Michael Huffington showed that he has spent more than $4 million so far in his first bid for Congress. Nearly all of it is his own money.

Huffington, the heir of a Texas oil fortune, defeated Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) in the June GOP primary.

He now faces Democrat Gloria Ochoa, a member of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, who raised $242,592 from July 1 to Sept. 30 and spent $213,333 during the same period. She now has $38,663 on hand, according to her filing report.

About 26% of Ochoa’s contributions over the past three months, or $63,841, came from PACs.

Times staff writer Alan C. Miller in Washington and correspondent James Maiella Jr. in Ventura contributed to this story.