Roberti Raises $200,000 in His Battle Against Recall Campaign

With six weeks remaining before a recall election, state Sen. David A. Roberti reported Monday that he has raised nearly $200,000 in campaign funds in an effort to hold onto his Van Nuys district seat.

The bulk of that sum, however, came from Roberti himself, who loaned his Beat the Recall treasury $125,000 from one of his senatorial campaign committees, records show.

It was unclear how much money has been raised so far by the three groups trying to remove the Democratic state senator from his 20th District seat. Spokesmen for the organizations said they have not yet filed campaign statements.

When the filing period ended Feb. 26, Roberti’s anti-recall committee had about $35,000 on hand after raising $194,000 since Jan. 1, according to his campaign statement.

Much of the money came from Roberti’s traditional allies in labor and law enforcement as well as individuals who donated money because they support the senator’s gun-control legislation, said Staci Walters, Roberti’s campaign spokeswoman.

“People understand that this is not an ordinary election but is about assault weapons,” Walters said, referring to gun enthusiasts’ support of the recall. “And people are starting to rally around the senator.”

Although they have the backing of gun-rights advocates, Roberti’s opponents maintain that the lawmaker--who angered many gun owners by authoring an assault-weapons ban--is using the issue as a smoke screen.

They charge that Roberti deserves to be recalled because he does not reside in the district, is soft on crime and as the ranking officer of the state Senate, he should shoulders some of the blame for California’s fiscal woes.

“For the San Fernando Valley, assault weapons are not the only issue,” said Russ Howard, spokesman for Californians Against Corruption, one of the groups backing the recall.

Howard said he did not know how much money recall proponents have on hand, but he predicted that fund-raising efforts now underway will be fruitful.

“Volunteers are bringing in over $5,000 a day,” Howard said. “Nothing breeds success like success. We just sent out a fund-raising letter a week ago, and it’s all coming in like a slot machine.”

In the Roberti camp, Walters said the senator held three fund-raising events last weekend, including one in South-Central Los Angeles and another in Simi Valley. Attorney Mike Curls said he staged a reception for Roberti at his law firm’s South-Central offices because he supports the senator’s gun-control efforts.

Constituents, Curls said, “are mad to the gills about the unbridled use of guns on the streets.”

The key fund-raiser planned for Roberti will be a $250-a-plate dinner in Los Angeles next week featuring gun-control activist Sarah Brady, Walters said. Brady is the wife of former White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot during an assassination attempt on former President Ronald Reagan.

Walters said the campaign’s expenditures so far have included phone banks, door-to-door precinct walking and mass mailings.

Roberti opponent Howard predicted the state senator will have to spend in excess of $1 million to hold onto his seat until December, when term limits will automatically oust him from office.

Meanwhile, Roberti has until March 11 to decide his political ambitions. By that date, he must tell the secretary of state’s office if he plans to run for either state treasurer or a seat on the Board of Equalization. He has filed statements expressing his interest in both offices.