Outside Dollars Fuel Hot Valley Senate Race

By HUGO MARTIN

May 10, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Engaged in the region’s toughest primary contest, both Richard Alarcon and Richard Katz have received the vast bulk of their campaign dollars from sources outside the San Fernando Valley Senate district they seek to represent, according to a Times computer-assisted analysis.

Residents and businesses from the district, which stretches from Pacoima to Studio City to Northridge, contributed only 8% of the total raised by each camp.

Both have campaigned hard on the theme that they have local roots and are not beholden to outside interests. But considering the Valley as a whole, the analysis shows 85% of Katz’s money and 82% of Alarcon’s comes from outside the area.

Neither candidate was surprised by the findings, saying the district is home mostly to working-class residents and small businesses.

“People in the 20th Senate District are not likely to write large checks,” said Alarcon, a five-year veteran of the City Council.

Katz, a former state assemblyman, said the analysis does not take into account that many labor unions and business groups that have contributed are based elsewhere in the state but have members within the district.

Political observers say it is common for well-known elected officials to receive the bulk of their money from outside their home district because they have greater access to political action committees and interest groups throughout the state.

In contrast, newcomers tend to raise about half their funds within the district, said Allan Hoffenblum, a veteran political consultant.

“When you are a challenger, it’s hard to get political action committees and interest groups to support you,” he said.

The analysis also shows that Alarcon, whose past fund-raising for his City Council seat has been sharply restricted by local contribution limits, has raised individual donations that are on average twice as large as those received by Katz, a former party leader of the state Assembly who has shown a prowess for fund-raising.

Alarcon’s contributions averaged $873 while Katz’s money came in average donation increments of $480, according to The Times analysis of data on more than 500 contributions received by the candidates this year through March 17.

Katz said the lower average for his contributions shows he is running a grass-roots campaign.

Responded Alarcon: “People are simply willing to spend more for my candidacy.”

In the fund-raising period between July 1 and March 17, Alarcon received 231 contributions totaling $201,761, according to records. During that same period, Katz took in 300 contributions totaling $144,237, the records show.

But Katz boosted his coffers by transferring $130,400 to his campaign from a 1996 Assembly campaign account that Katz and the Democratic Party used to help elect other Democrats to the Assembly. The account, which held as much as $2.8 million in 1996, included contributions from large corporations and political action committees. The 1996 money was not analyzed for this report.

The analysis showed one-third of Alarcon’s money so far has come from transportation firms, developers and labor unions.

Katz, meanwhile, received more than one-third of his contributions from attorneys, entertainment industry and transportation firms, according to the study.

It is not surprising that the transportation industry has contributed heavily to both camps. When Katz was in the Assembly, he headed the powerful Transportation Committee and wrote several laws on highway safety and truck inspections. If elected to the state Senate, Katz would be considered a top candidate to head the Senate’s transportation panel.

Alarcon, meanwhile, heads the council’s Transportation Committee and will retain that post if he loses the race. As head of the committee, Alarcon is in a position to influence franchise contracts with taxi firms and tow truck services in the city.

The transportation industry gave $28,248 to Alarcon and $12,000 to Katz, according to records.

Each candidate said that generosity is because each works well with the transportation industry.

“They must be very pleased with my work on the Transportation Committee,” Alarcon said. “I think it’s a compliment to my work.”

One of the largest contributions to Alarcon--$10,000--came from Dean Nichols, manager of Chesapeake Leasing, one of the largest taxi cab firms in Virginia. Nichols could not be reached for comment.

Alarcon said he is not sure why a taxi firm from Virginia would be one of his largest supporters.

“I really don’t know why they gave that kind of amount except that I think they support my efforts,” he said.

Alarcon also received $5,000 from Yellow Cab Co. of Northern Orange County, $2,500 from Los Angeles Checker Cab and $5,000 from Laidlaw Transit Services, which has three bus contracts with the city.

Steve Keiper, a vice president of Laidlaw, said the firm contributed to Alarcon because it is impressed by his work in City Hall. He said Laidlaw was not motivated to contribute because Alarcon may have a vote on transit contracts in the future.

“Over the years, we have given support to a number of council people and not for any particular reason,” he said.

Another large contribution--$5,000--came from William Burke, co-founder and president of L.A. Marathon, which has a contract with the city to operate the race until 2005.

Burke said he contributed to Alarcon because he was impressed with his skills in resolving a personnel dispute during a recent meeting of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, where both are members of the board.

“I just was so impressed by his inordinate logic in a matter that was so inordinately complex,” Burke said.

Katz’s largest single contribution--$10,000--came from the California Trucking Assn.

A spokesman for the association said the contribution is a show of appreciation for Katz’s work in the Assembly with the trucking association on truck safety issues.

“The trucking industry is a very complex industry,” spokesman Beau Biller said. “It takes years to educate an elected official on the issues involved.”

Attorneys and law firms also contributed heavily to Katz.

Christine Spagnoli and the Santa Monica-based firm of Greene, Broillet, Taylor, Wheeler & Panish gave a total of $3,000 to Katz. Spagnoli said she has known Katz for years and contributed because she respects his abilities as a lawmaker.

She added that Katz made strong relationships with many attorneys and law firms when he was the head of the Democratic Party in the Assembly in 1996.

“I’m sure he has a lot of old relationships with attorneys who feel he is a very good legislator,” she said.

Contributions from the entertainment industry accounted for 10% of Katz’s money so far.

Katz’s wife, Gini Barrett, is the former senior vice president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But Katz said he has many friends in the industry dating back to 1985 when he was a member of the California Film Commission, which sought to keep filmmakers from leaving the state.

The primary election is June 2.

* SCOTT HARRIS: Alarcon and Katz make a point to avoid the issue of race. B1

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Campaign Finances

ALARCON

Money raised in the Valley: 18%

Money raised outside the Valley: 82%

Average contribution: $873

Total: $201,761

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KATZ

Money raised in the Valley: 15%