ELECTIONS / CONGRESS : Sybert’s Campaign Treasury Dwarfs GOP Rivals’

Republican congressional candidate Richard Sybert has loaned his campaign treasury $409,290 of his own money to challenge Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) for the congressional seat representing Thousand Oaks.

Sybert, a former top aide to Gov. Pete Wilson, reported $404,859 in campaign cash but owed himself $405,816 as of Dec. 31, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

Beilenson reported a cash total of $68,389 at the end of the year and a debt of $50,000. Beilenson remains unchallenged in the Democratic primary.

Meanwhile, Ventura County’s other congressman, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), has amassed nearly $121,000 in campaign contributions to bolster his reelection bid. None of his potential rivals have raised even the $1,336 filing fee to qualify for the ballot.

The fund-raising prowess of the incumbent Republican prompted a strikingly bleak assessment of a Democrat’s chances at an upset in the 23rd Congressional District that covers all of Ventura County except for most of Thousand Oaks.

“If money talks, we don’t have a chance,” said Hank Starr, chairman of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee.

In the 24th Congressional District that covers Thousand Oaks, Malibu and portions of the San Fernando Valley, Sybert’s campaign treasury dwarfs that of his two challengers for the GOP nomination in the June primary.

Robert K. Hammer, a Newbury Park banking consultant, reported a cash total of $35,182, but has loaned his campaign $51,945. Mark Boos Benhard, an Agoura public relations consultant, had nearly $10,000 cash on hand.

Benhard said Sybert, who only recently moved to the 24th District, is using his money to try and “scare other candidates out of the race.”

“But it doesn’t scare me,” Benhard said. “We’re not trying to buy ourselves a seat in Congress. We’re trying to earn it through a grass-roots effort.”

Hammer said he also is not deterred by Sybert’s wealth. “People vote, dollars don’t,” he said. “This is a citizen’s campaign, not a political campaign.”

Though Hammer loaned his campaign $51,945, he said it was made at a great sacrifice to his family. “I’m not wealthy,” he said.

Sybert, who plans to formally announce his candidacy next week, defended his large campaign loan.

“I’m putting together enough money to run a campaign to beat Beilenson,” he said, noting that Beilenson spent about $800,000 in 1992 to defeat his Republican opponent, former Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks).

“I’m confident I’m going to be able to raise whatever it takes,” Sybert said. “Based on past races and how much money Beilenson has spent before it could be a million-dollar race.”

Sybert has already spent more than $28,000 on consulting, advertising, printing, legal and accounting fees associated with his campaign.

Beilenson, who is seeking his 10th term in Congress, said he hoped not to spend more than $250,000 in his reelection bid. But he said he is prepared to raise as much as $1 million if necessary.

“I hope to spend a great deal less than that,” he said. “But that will depend on what we’re up against. If Sybert wins the Republican primary and he has a great deal of money, we will be forced to spend as much.”

Beilenson raised a total of $55,239 from individuals during the last six months of 1993. As a matter of principle, he refuses to accept contributions from special interest PACs.

Gallegly, who plans to seek a fifth term, raised a total of $93,546 in the last six months of 1993, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

Gallegly’s receipts included $14,000 from special interest political action committees. Lockheed Employees PAC, Sunkist PAC, Employees of Pacific Enterprises PAC and Professional Insurance Agents PAC each gave Gallegly $1,000 or more.

Gallegly, who spent $862,061 to defeat a challenge from Democratic challenger Anita Perez Ferguson in 1992, has repeatedly said he will raise and spend as much money as needed to win.

So far, Gallegly’s two Republican challengers and one Democratic opponent have not raised the $5,000 that triggers a requirement to file campaign finance reports. Nor have they raised enough for the filing fees required to get their names on the ballot.

Democrat Frank Stephenson, a 53-year-old college placement consultant of Ojai, said he has yet to raise any money for his campaign. “If ideas mean anything, then we have a chance,” he said. “If it’s just about money, who knows?”

Stephenson said he hopes to collect 3,000 signatures to avoid paying the $1,336 filing fee. So far, he said he has collected several hundred.

Republican candidate William Clifford Winter, a 38-year-old nurse’s assistant, said he also has not raised any money.

“I was out of work for awhile,” he said. “Right now I’m more focused on paying the rent. But I’m not giving up.”

Somis resident Charles Russo, the other Republican candidate in the race, could not be reached for comment.