Foes in 24th Chip In Total of $1 Million

Digging deep into their own pockets, a Democratic congressional candidate and his Republican rival have collectively lent about $1 million to their political campaigns to win a seat in Congress.

Campaign finance reports show that Democrat Brad Sherman has now lent $390,000 to his all-out election bid to replace Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), who is retiring at the end of the year.

Republican Rich Sybert has ponied up another $40,000 to help finance his second campaign for the seat in the 24th Congressional District that stretches from Thousand Oaks to Malibu and Sherman Oaks.

Sybert’s latest personal loans combined with the money he lent during his first bid for the 24th District seat in 1994 bring his financial commitment to about $610,000, the latest reports show.

“I’m only two-thirds as nuts as he is,” Sherman said Thursday, comparing the campaign finance totals. “Do the math.”

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Sybert raised more money than Sherman in the past three months, bringing in $167,558. Of that total, about $57,000 came from political action committees set up by various insurance, aerospace, manufacturing and petroleum industries.

A few of the larger contributions include $2,500 from the National Assn. of Life Underwriters, $2,000 from Chevron Employees PAC, $1,500 from Exxon Corp. PAC, $2,000 from Litton Employees PAC and $1,000 from Phillips Petroleum Co. PAC.

Sybert’s report filed with the Federal Elections Commission showed that he had $180,742 in political cash available for spending as of Sept. 30.

“We are right on track,” said John Theiss, Sybert’s campaign manager. “Money is coming in every day.”

Sybert has a series of fund-raisers scheduled later this month, Theiss said, featuring former Vice President Dan Quayle, former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour and state Treasurer Matt Fong.

Sherman’s report showed that he raised $153,495 from July 1 through Sept. 30, with about $47,000 coming from political action committees set up by labor unions, and the electronics, medical, banking and movie industries.

Some of the larger contributions include $5,000 from the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League, $2,500 from United Steelworkers of America, $1,000 from Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. PAC, $1,500 from Voters for Choice and $500 from Amgen PAC.

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“We will win unless Sybert substantially outspends us,” Sherman said, “and we have been keeping up with him. We don’t have to spend as much as him; we just have to be in the ballpark.”

Sherman, a member of the State Board of Equalization, said he has a fund-raising reception planned next week that features Vice President Al Gore.

In Ventura County’s other congressional race, incumbent Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) has not lent his campaign any money. But he raised another $52,194 from various contributors in the past three months.

That raises Gallegly’s stash of political cash to $348,563--about 28 times more than his Democratic challenger, Bob Unruhe.

“I only know one way of doing things and that is with a 100% effort,” said Gallegly, who represents the 23rd Congressional District, which covers all of Ventura County except for most of Thousand Oaks.

He declined to say if he planned to spend all of his political cash stockpiled over the last few years.

“We have our political strategy in place and it will entail doing what is needed to get over 50% of the vote,” Gallegly said.

Unruhe’s campaign finance report showed that he had raised $8,049 since July 1, with $12,305 left in the bank.

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“Every time I’ve run for office, I’ve always been outspent and I’ve always won,” said Unruhe, a retired schoolteacher who was a Culver City councilman in the 1950s and 1960s, and more recently Ventura County’s elected representative to the Senior Legislature.

“I’ve got hundreds of volunteers working and I’d rather have that than money any day,” he said. “It’s outlandish the sums candidates are spending these days.”