ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : Fund-Raising Success Points to Costly Race

In what is expected to be the costliest mayoral race in city history, Los Angeles Councilman Michael Woo has become the first candidate to pass the $1-million mark, his campaign manager said Monday.

Even more significant, Woo has more money on hand than any of the 51 other candidates jockeying to succeed Mayor Tom Bradley. In a report filed Monday at City Hall, Woo reported having $667,500 in available cash--a potent reserve as the candidates enter the final 10 weeks of the primary campaign and face a costly battle of the airwaves.

In addition, Woo is expected to receive a first-ever disbursement of public matching funds totaling $333,500 in the coming days--meaning he could have $1 million available as he heads toward the April 20 primary race.

Still, the race remains volatile, and some candidates have major fund-raising events planned in the coming weeks. Also, none of the candidates have yet invested heavily in the type of advertising or mail campaign designed to get their names and messages directly in front of voters.

Nonetheless, Woo’s aides sought to maximize the importance of their early fund-raising advantage.

“It shows . . . that our campaign is in the strongest position in public opinion surveys and financially,” said Woo campaign manager Vicky Rideout. A poll released last week by a local television station showed Woo leading among city voters.

Wealthy businessman and lawyer Richard Riordan, while trailing in that early survey, represents Woo’s most serious competition in campaign spending, records and interviews show.

Riordan raised $684,000 through Dec. 31 and had $500,800 in cash remaining, his report shows. More importantly, Riordan, who declined public matching funds, has said he will spend millions of his own money, if needed, to fund his campaign.

New City Hall campaign reports vividly demonstrate Riordan’s willingness to sink huge sums into his political causes. Through the end of the year, Riordan had lent or donated $453,604 to his initiative campaign to limit the terms of City Hall politicians. The measure also will appear on the April ballot and is seen as an important profile-building adjunct to Riordan’s mayoral drive.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Panorama City), who also trailed Woo in fund raising and the early opinion survey, reported raising $457,000 through the end of the year, with $325,000 in cash on hand.

Katz discounted the significance of the fund-raising gap, saying he has a number of events planned in the coming weeks. “I have no doubt whatsoever that we are going to raise the $2 million we need for this race,” Katz said.

“Woo has been running for mayor for two years,” he said. “I can’t squeeze City Hall lobbyists the way they’ve been squeezing.”

A report released by Katz’s campaign Monday gave the first detailed look at his donor pool.

Katz heads the Assembly Transportation Committee and has been a major player in obtaining funding for Los Angeles’ rail system. Transit interests have been among his donors, including Ronald N. Tutor, whose firm is the largest Metro Rail subway contractor.

Katz’s reports showed he has drawn heavily from carpenter union officials and members.

Transit contractors and union members support him because he led the winning effort for state bond measures that funded transportation projects, Katz said.

Thousand of dollars donated to Katz came from attorneys, entertainment industry figures and big business executives and their firms, such as the investment house of Bear Stearns, engineering giant Bechtel and Citicorp Bank.

Most of major candidates made their fund-raising reports available by late Monday afternoon, the city’s first deadline for disclosing campaign finances.

* Councilman Nate Holden raised $293,610, and had $232,751 on hand. Holden, who represents Koreatown, received many contributions from that community. Other funds came from proprietors of restaurants, convenience stores and other small business, as well as celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck.

* Councilman Joel Wachs reported raising $222,158, and had $125,930 on hand. His money has come primarily from entertainment and arts sources, including Martin Blinder, an executive of Martin Lawrence Galleries. Producer Bud Yorkin was one of several Hollywood figures who helped raise thousands of dollars for Wachs. An array of City Hall lobbyists also contributed, including Bradley confidante Maureen Kindel.

* Transportation commissioner Nick Patsaouras raised $108,214, and had $105,618 on hand. He drew contributions from the Greek and Armenian communities, as well executives with major mass transit contractors, such as Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall and ICF Kaiser Engineers.

* Former Deputy Mayor Tom Houston, an attorney, reported raising $51,500 through Dec. 31, primarily other lawyers and environmental activists.

* Former Recreation and Parks Commissioner J. Stanley Sanders reported raising just $24,729, although he has a major fund-raiser, headlined by comedian Bill Cosby, scheduled for later this month.

Two other late entries into the race, Councilman Ernani Bernardi and former Deputy Mayor Linda Griego, had not raised any money in the period covered by the reports.

The report by former ambassador to Mexico and ex-school board member Julian Nava could not be immediately obtained.