Beilenson, Sybert About Even in Election Fund Raising

U.S. Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills) and attorney Richard Sybert are running neck-and-neck in fund raising as they prepare for a November election test to determine who will represent a congressional district that stretches from Thousand Oaks to Sherman Oaks.

Campaign finance reports filed Tuesday by Beilenson show the veteran lawmaker, now seeking his 10th term in office, had $135,852 on hand June 30 when the books on the most recent reporting period closed. Beilenson, 62, represents the 24th District, one of the nation’s most affluent congressional areas.

Meanwhile, the 42-year-old Sybert, a former cabinet-level official in Gov. Pete Wilson’s Administration, had $122,759 in his campaign account, according to the reports.

The reports also reveal Sybert spent $365,497 during the first six months of this year in his successful bid to win the GOP nomination to run against Beilenson. In the June 7 primary, Sybert scored 47% of the Republican vote in a field of five candidates.

By contrast, Beilenson spent only $41,057 to win renomination in the Democratic primary against one foe, Scott Gaulke, a follower of political extremist Lyndon LaRouche.

The latest campaign documents show how heavily Sybert has relied on his personal wealth to fund his quest for office. During the first six months of 1994, Sybert raised only $90,871 from outside sources, but lent his campaign committee $421,685 at 5% interest.

A Harvard Law School graduate, Sybert was a partner in a major Downtown Los Angeles law firm for 12 years. In 1991, Sybert was named director of Wilson’s Office of Planning and Research, and late last year he became president of a Santa Barbara-based toy design firm.

During the first six months of this year, Beilenson raised $113,058 from outside sources. The congressman, however, continues to carry on his campaign books a $50,000 loan he made to himself to fund his 1992 reelection bid.

Sybert said Tuesday that he expects to spend about half a million dollars between now and the Nov. 7 election. That would put this year’s race in the same league as the 1992 race between Beilenson and his GOP rival, ex-Assemblyman Tom McClintock. Two years ago, Beilenson spent $616,000, his foe $459,000.

Beilenson could not be reached for comment.