For Roberti and Well-Heeled Rival, the Bucks Don’t Stop Here

If money is the mother’s milk of politics, as the late Jesse Unruh observed, then some San Fernando Valley-area politicians are doing very nicely, thank you, judging by recent campaign contribution reports.

Mandatory filings are flooding the countertops of the secretary of state’s office this week in Sacramento, offering a glimpse into the campaign bank accounts of lawmakers as they enter the 1994 political year:

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OF ITALY, VOTES AND MONEY: One high-profile legislator with a long track record for successful fund raising is Democrat David A. Roberti, who is an unofficial candidate for state treasurer while he battles a movement to recall him from his Van Nuys Senate seat.

Roberti had $246,341 on hand as of Dec. 31, though campaign treasurer Shirley Wechsler of Studio City notes, of course, that “monies have come in since then.” The figure also doesn’t include the hefty sums Roberti will have to raise for his Beat the Recall campaign committee.

By contrast, however, it would appear that Roberti’s main Democratic challenger, Sacramento developer Phil Angelides, is sitting even prettier. Angelides, the former head of the California Democratic Party, started the year with $1.1 million on hand--and promises to give Roberti a run for his money.

Of course, Angelides may not have the same expenses as Roberti. The filings reveal that, last August, Roberti put his money where his mouth is by loaning $5,000 to the L.A. School Breakup Committee, a local group formed to get the issue on the ballot. Sensing the Valley’s fervor for breaking off from the Los Angeles Unified School District, the state senator has carried the flag in Sacramento and vows to continue doing so this year.

During the last six months of 1993, Roberti’s campaign committee also paid more than $9,000 for a weeks-long visit to Italy for what went on the books as an “official Senate trip.” Accompanied by an entourage of three other senators and a Senate staff member, Roberti and his wife, June, flew to Rome to encourage foreign investment in California, a spokesman said.

The senator also shelled out $16,000 to Calabasas political pollster Arnold Steinberg, who helped Roberti study whether to enter the race for a Los Angeles County supervisor’s seat. The upshot? It would be too costly and bruising.

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HE JUST KEEPS GOING, AND GOING . . .: In the Assembly, one of the big fund-raisers of the area’s delegation was Glendale Republican Pat Nolan, who attracted $203,236 in campaign contributions during the second half of 1993.

But much of Nolan’s war chest these days is being diverted to San Francisco attorney Ephraim Margolin, who is defending the 15-year assemblyman against federal charges stemming from the FBI’s long-running Capitol corruption probe. From July to December, 1993, Nolan ran up about $200,000 in legal bills.

Nolan was indicted last April on six counts of racketeering, extortion, conspiracy and money laundering for allegedly using his office to glean campaign contributions from special interests. He is scheduled to go on trial with state Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier) this spring.

Trial or no trial, Nolan’s campaign filings show that the assemblyman enjoys some heavy-duty support that doesn’t seem to fade when the going gets tough.

Listed among his contributors are a number of fellow GOP officeholders--Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich included.

Contributor Joseph Jacobs, the president of Jacobs Engineering in Pasadena, says there’s no reason for supporters to be squeamish about donating money to Nolan. “I find Pat to be a very compassionate man and a man of great integrity. I’ve gotten his side of the story and it all hangs together as far as I’m concerned.”

Jacobs himself contributed $36,500 to Nolan’s campaign committee in 1993. Today, Nolan is expected to announce he’ll seek re-election.

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HE DID IT HIS WAY: One of the thinnest campaign-disclosure files plopped down this week at the secretary of state’s office was that of state Sen. Tom Hayden, whose district spills over the Santa Monica Mountains into the San Fernando Valley.

Now in his second year of a four-year term, Hayden is not exactly flush with cash. In fact, as of the first of the year, Hayden’s campaign committee had just $843 on hand and the only contribution it received in the last half of 1993 was a $5,000 loan from the politician himself.

Outstanding debts were tallied at $637,142--again, money that Hayden personally loaned his campaign committee. Some Capitol observers wryly note that Hayden can well afford it, thanks to a divorce settlement from actress Jane Fonda.

While the liberal Democrat would like to be reimbursed someday, said Hayden spokesman Duane Peterson, he takes a certain measure of comfort in the fact that “he is beholden only to himself.”

In an effort to distance himself from special interests, Hayden--along with Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Los Angeles)--has signed Common Cause’s pledge to refrain from asking lobbyists for money.

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CATCHING UP: Two other area lawmakers are expected to formally declare their candidacies for statewide office later this month. State Sen. Cathie Wright, the Simi Valley Republican whose district includes portions of Canoga Park, Chatsworth and Northridge, started the year with about $7,000 on hand for her race for lieutenant governor, according to campaign statements. Wright collected $71,000 in contributions in the filing period ending Dec. 31.

But the campaign documents tell only part of the story, said John Theiss, Wright’s campaign spokesman.

Since Christmas week, when Wright announced her candidacy, “money has been coming in from throughout the state of California and she’s well on her way to some exciting numbers,” Theiss said.

Already, he said, Wright has about $160,000 on hand for the contest.

She has a long road ahead of her, however. The Democratic contender in the lieutenant governor’s race is state Controller Gray Davis, who started the year with $1.9 million on hand.

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A FRIEND IN NEED: Assemblyman Burt Margolin, who has set his sights on the California insurance commissioner’s office, is the other Valley-area politician who expects to announce his candidacy for statewide office.

Margolin, a member of the Democratic inner circle led by U.S. Reps. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City) and Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), had $324,323 on hand as of Dec. 31, having collected $365,021 during the last six months of 1993.

Illustrating the loyalty of the Berman-Waxman clan, Margolin’s campaign treasury got a boost from fellow Democrat Barbara Friedman of Van Nuys, who--having decided to sit tight and forgo a run for the Senate--dedicated $20,000 to her pal.