LOCAL ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : Riordan, Katz Lead Rivals in 10-Week Fund-Raising Tally

Assemblyman Richard Katz has outstripped all but one of his Los Angeles mayoral opponents in fund raising in the last 10 weeks, as the mayor’s race heads toward its semi-final stretch.

The exception is the richest man in the race, Richard Riordan, who wrote himself a $1-million check.

With about six weeks to go before April’s primary, Katz on Thursday reported raising $514,000 from Jan. 1 to March 6.

During the same period, City Councilman Michael Woo, the putative front-runner, disclosed that he had raised $369,000.

Riordan reported donations during the period of $355,000 in addition to the $1 million he chipped in himself.

Riordan, who already has begun airing television commercials and sending slick brochures through the mail, has reported spending $1.2 million so far on his campaign--far more than any other candidate.

Woo, the leading vote-getter in an early Times poll, is in the best fiscal shape--with $1.1 million cash on hand--for the race’s final push.

But lawyer-businessman Riordan, who has $800,000 remaining in his treasury and a personal fortune of $100 million, could easily vault past Woo by writing himself another check.

Katz (D-Panorama City) said he has $530,000 on hand--plus $220,000 on deposit with TV stations to pay for ads not yet aired.

Most campaigns were scrambling to meet a midnight Thursday disclosure deadline under the city’s ethics law and, by Thursday evening, said they were unable to provide detailed information on the latest fund-raising efforts. However, based on interviews with mayoral campaigns during the week, Woo, Katz and Riordan are believed to be the money leaders.

Katz has raised about $1 million all told, compared to $1.2 million for Woo and $2 million for Riordan. Katz and Woo are entitled to public matching funds under the ethics law, which governs political fund raising in Los Angeles. Riordan has declined public funds.

Katz, Woo and Riordan are followed in the fund-raising race by City Councilman Joel Wachs, whose aides said he had collected more than $300,000 during the latest 10-week period, for a total approaching $600,000.

Riordan’s contribution to himself has changed the nature of fund raising in the race. It triggered a so-called rich man’s exception to the ethics law. That exception allows candidates confronted with an opponent who writes himself a big check to solicit donations of up to $7,000--rather than the usual $1,000. The $1,000 limit was imposed by voters in 1990 as part of an effort to restrict influence of special interests.

Fund-raising disclosures Thursday showed that some of Riordan’s opponents have asked $1,000 donors for more.

In Katz’s case, his biggest single source of support has been from carpenters’ unions in California and Nevada.

Katz, as chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, is credited by these unions with passage of Proposition 111, which imposed a gas tax to fund a transportation master plan and created jobs for carpenters.

Doug McCarron, secretary-treasurer of the Southern California District Council of Carpenters, estimated that the union has raised close to $100,000 for Katz and is committed to raising more.

The Oakland-based Carpenter’s Historical Society of the Bay Area, for example, gave Katz $1,000 before the limit was raised, then kicked in an additional $6,000.

An overall limit of how much a donor can give is still in force. Donors are limited to $7,000 for the election, which they can give to one candidate or split among many.

Other gifts to Katz from the carpenters’ unions included $7,000 from the California State Council of Carpenters, $6,000 from the Gold Coast District Council of Carpenters, $5,500 from L.A. County District Council of Carpenters and $3,000 from the Nevada State Council of Carpenters.

Katz’s average contributor gave $330, however, and more than two-thirds of his donors gave less than $300. These were the kind of donors the ethics law was designed to encourage.

Lawyer J. Stanley Sanders’ campaign reported raising $118,000 in contributions during the latest period and said it had raised about $185,000 to date. Transportation Commissioner Nick Patsaouras’ campaign said it took in contributions of $162,000 during the latest period, and $270,000 overall.

Times staff writer Rich Connell contributed to this story.