Bergeson, Silva Lead Fund-Raising, Reports Show

Despite the bankruptcy’s negative imprint on county government, supervisors and those who want the job seemed to have little difficulty raising money this year, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday.

Developers, unions, lobbyists, waste haulers, attorneys and other special interest groups handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars to current and aspiring board members.

Supervisor Marian Bergeson and Jim Silva were the most successful fund-raisers on the board, according to the new finance reports, which cover contributions made from Jan. 1 to June 30.

Bergeson, whose current term expires in 1998 and who says she is undecided on whether she will run for reelection, raised $51,681. Much of this money came from a single fund-raising event earlier this year. A large supporter of Bergeson’s was the Irvine Co., the reports showed.

Bergeson said she needed to raise money because she has used the funds to help subsidize office expenses ever since her budget was slashed, along with those of the other supervisors, in post-bankruptcy spending cutbacks.

“We need operational money, because of the size of the district, and because I pay my own way at every event,” Bergeson said.

Silva, who is widely believed to be interested in running for reelection in 1998, raised $30,493. Trash haulers were among his biggest supporters, the reports showed.

Silva could not be reached for comment.

Supervisor William G. Steiner, who has vowed to leave office when his term expires in 1998, raised $19,047. He, too, has used campaign funds to offset office expenditures. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Board Chairman Roger R. Stanton and Supervisor Don Saltarelli didn’t bother to raise so much as a penny, according to the reports. Both supervisors are leaving office in December.

“There was no need” to raise money, Stanton explained. There were, however, expenditures from his campaign accounts.

Stanton, who still has more than $150,000 in his campaign coffers, spent $26,977 to pay attorneys’ fees in his defense against misconduct charges for his role in the bankruptcy. Steiner also faces similar charges.

The board has agreed to pay up to $250,000 of Steiner’s and Stanton’s legal bills. Stanton said he has not approached that limit, but paid his attorney out of campaign funds because of delays with the county’s reimbursement process.

He said he does not know if he will reimburse his campaign account with the county’s funds.

“I haven’t even thought about that yet. It hasn’t crossed my mind,” Stanton said.

While Stanton and Saltarelli declined to raise money, candidates for their soon-to-be-vacant seats were busy looking for donations.

Garden Grove City Councilman Mark Leyes, a candidate for supervisor from the 1st District, led the pack with about $70,000, he said. He said that he plans to raise “about $70,000 more” by November.

Leyes’ opponent in November, Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith, said raising money, at least so far, has not been that easy. He has raised $14,467 but plans two fund-raising events in August and another in September.

In the 3rd District race, Deputy Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer raised $42,000, which included a $25,000 donation from himself. Much of Spitzer’s support came from local attorneys. Spitzer’s opponent, Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) raised $30,814.

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Len Hall.