Katz Becomes 3rd Mayoral Candidate to Raise $200,000 : Politics: The Democratic assemblyman boosts his electoral credibility. Councilmen Holden and Woo have also hit that funding level.

State Assemblyman Richard Katz notified the city’s ethics office Friday that he has raised $200,000 to run for mayor of Los Angeles, making him the third prospective mayoral candidate to reach that funding level which is a key benchmark under election laws.

Councilmen Nate Holden and Michael Woo, other potential candidates for mayor in next spring’s election, have also done so.

Holden wrote to the Ethics Commission on Oct. 16 that he had hit the $200,000 mark, city officials said. Woo, who has conducted the longest and most aggressive fund-raising drive, filed his declaration Friday, shortly after Katz, a Panorama City Democrat.

Vicki Rideout, a political adviser to Woo, said Woo actually informed the city Oct. 14 that his campaign had reached that level. City officials said that paperwork could not be found, however. Informed of this, Rideout quickly filed a new declaration.

“We have raised well over that,” she said.

Because demonstrated fund-raising ability is respected in political circles, giving candidates credibility, the city’s threshold notification reports are inadvertently becoming a barometer of political success.

“This is part of the derby,” said one city official who asked not to be identified. “Because political money begets political money, it’s important to show success in fund raising, and this is one way to prove it--by being the first on the block to file a notification report.”

At present, 15 people--including Councilman Joel Wachs, businessman Richard Riordan and former Deputy Mayor Tom Houston--have filed declarations of intent to raise money to run for mayor, which city law requires before potential candidates can accept donations. All are required to notify the Ethics Commission when they either raise or spend the initial $200,000.

Helping Katz reach the $200,000 mark was a fund-raiser he held at the Palomino club in North Hollywood two weeks ago, at which Assembly Speaker Willie Brown praised Katz before a crowd of about 400.

Benjamin Bycel, executive director of the Ethics Commission, mailed a warning letter Thursday to candidates for city offices in next spring’s election, reminding them of their obligation to notify his office when they have either raised or spent certain amounts of money.

“Failure to comply may subject you to civil or administrative penalties,” the letter warned.

For mayoral candidates, the threshold reporting amount is $200,000; for city attorney and city controller candidates, it is $100,000, and for City Council candidates, it is $50,000.

The only other candidate to file a notification that he had raised the threshold amount was Rudolph Svorinich Jr., who is running for the council seat representing the 15th District, based in San Pedro.

However, the law does not require candidates to disclose their contributors nor how they spent the money. Statements disclosing these details need not be filed until Jan. 31, 1993.

The threshold reporting rules are designed to help opponents qualify for the city’s program of public campaign financing, Bycel said.

Under the city’s ethics law, candidates qualify for partial public financing if they are opposed by candidates who either have qualified for matching funds themselves or have raised or spent more than the filing threshold for their electoral contest.