Perez Ferguson Outdid Gallegly in Fund Raising

Democrat Anita Perez Ferguson, who was trounced by incumbent Rep. Elton Gallegly of Simi Valley in the race for a Ventura County seat in the House, surprisingly raised more campaign cash this year than her opponent, election records show.

Perez Ferguson, who says she is being considered for a position in the Clinton Administration, raised more than $516,000, compared to $414,000 for Gallegly from Jan. 1 through the November election.

But Gallegly was able to draw on a campaign reserve fund fattened during his six years in Congress, and outspent Perez Ferguson, $707,000 to $494,000.

The financial nuts and bolts of the closely watched race are contained in campaign reports filed with the Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C.

The Gallegly-Perez Ferguson contest was fought for a seat in the 23rd Congressional District, which includes Carpinteria and all of Ventura County except most of Thousand Oaks.

Although she lost the election, Perez Ferguson said she may find herself in Washington next year anyway.

She said she has been contacted by Democrats close to the incoming Clinton Administration about a possible job with the new national team.

“Clinton people have inquired,” she said. “My chances are 50-50 there will be an appointed position for me. I’m very excited about it. I’m just trying to stay patient and calm.”

Perez Ferguson said she is being considered for posts in the departments of Labor or Health and Human Services.

She said a number of women and labor organizations are pushing for her appointment as an agency undersecretary or lesser position in the Administration.

Perez Ferguson, 43, is the first vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Women’s Political Caucus. She is now living in Oxnard and has spent considerable time in the nation’s capital to help formulate options to solve social problems facing the new Democratic administration.

Perez Ferguson’s national clout was reflected in her federal spending and expenditure report for the period through Nov. 23, which showed that 49% of her campaign contributions were generated by special-interest political action committees, known as PACs.

Her list of contributors included the National Women’s Political Caucus, Emily’s List, the League of Conservation Voters and a number of organized labor and educator groups.

In contrast, only 33% of Gallegly contributions were generated by PACs.

Among his PAC contributors were the National Rifle Assn. and groups representing financial, energy, construction, food, farm and aerospace interests.

When the election results were tallied in November, Gallegly won easily with 54% of the vote, or 108,152 votes, compared to 42% for Perez Ferguson, or 83,543 votes. Translated into cost per vote, Gallegly spent $6.54 versus $5.92 for Perez Ferguson.

The 48-year-old congressman now finds himself in the unusual position in the House of being named to three committees--Foreign Affairs, Interior and Insular Affairs and, most recently, Judiciary.

Gallegly, the only non-lawyer on the Judiciary Committee, said his seat on that panel would allow him to mount a new push for legislation designed to stanch the flow of illegal immigrants. Without a seat on the committee, his immigration package--branded as racist by opponents during the election campaign--had virtually no chance of gaining momentum in Congress.

Reflecting on his big win, the conservative Republican called it “a classic grass-roots campaign” in a year in which voters took a skeptical view of many incumbents.

In the neighboring 24th Congressional District, which includes most of Thousand Oaks, the southwest San Fernando Valley and Malibu, Democratic Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson of Los Angeles far outspent his conservative Republican rival, Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks, according to federal finance reports.

Beilenson, 60, poured $616,264 into his battle against McClintock, who spent $459,327. The congressman defeated McClintock handily by a 56%-39% vote.

The day after the Nov. 3 election, McClintock, 36, a 10-year veteran of the state Assembly, announced that he was quitting politics.

The campaign finance reports underscore a newfound fund-raising prowess on the part of Beilenson, who has a longstanding policy of refusing contributions from special-interest political action committees and had not faced a serious challenger in years.

In 1990, he was one of a handful of incumbent congressmen nationwide who were outspent by challengers.

While Beilenson stuck to his no-PACs policy in the Nov. 3 race, nearly 44% of McClintock’s funds came from PACs, the campaign reports indicate.

Beilenson, a Harvard-trained attorney, also loaned his campaign $50,000 in personal funds.

During the campaign, Beilenson repeatedly attacked McClintock for accepting special-interest money, saying it compromised his integrity.

McClintock said such donations had never influenced his votes, and that PACs representing conservative and pro-business causes gave him money because they agree with his political philosophies.

Times staff writer Jack Cheevers contributed to this story.