Mayoral Hopefuls Raking In Cash a Year Before Vote

The race for mayor of Los Angeles is off to an early and vigorous start, as disclosure statements filed Monday show that the principal candidates raised more than $2.8 million during 1999, despite aggressive and simultaneous fund-raising by both parties’ presidential candidates.

Among the would-be mayors, commercial real estate broker Steve Soboroff was the hands-down leader, accumulating almost as much as all his rivals combined with the election more than a year away. Soboroff tapped thousands of donors from across the city and reported $1.3 million in contributions, much of that from a single party at the home of Mayor Richard Riordan.

The mayor has endorsed his friend and advisor although some of the mayor’s other close allies have misgivings about the candidate. Soboroff also spent more than any other candidate, but still reported $1.1 million in the bank, nearly twice as much as his nearest rival.

City Atty. James K. Hahn came in second in last year’s fund-raising sweepstakes. Hahn, who leads the field in name recognition, has been criticized for his lackadaisical efforts to raise money--a shortcoming that new additions to his campaign team, including two members of Riordan’s inner circle, are expected to address in the coming months.

Hahn reported raising $638,073, with $516,939 in the bank--each of those totals about half of Soboroff’s--although the city attorney has been campaigning for much longer and has held citywide office for nearly two decades.

Hahn is “a guy whose Rolodex is as big as an oil drum, and this is what he’s done,” said Ace Smith, Soboroff’s campaign consultant. “That campaign’s in trouble.”

The city attorney’s supporters dismiss that as overstatement, what Hahn campaign consultant Bill Carrick calls “chronic spin hyperbole.”

They note that their candidate enjoys such positive name recognition--Hahn’s father, Kenneth, was a beloved county supervisor, and James Hahn has won five citywide elections--that some wags refer to Hahn as “the best political name west of Daley,” a reference to former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and his successful sons. As a result, they say, Hahn needs less money than his rivals to get voters’ attention.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, who announced his candidacy only in October, made good use of his short time in the race, reporting more than $340,000 in contributions and managing to bank almost all of it rather than spending it in the early going. As of Friday, when Villaraigosa filed his statement, the speaker reported $325,000 still on hand.

And Councilman Joel Wachs, a veteran of City Hall and mayoral candidate in 1993, reported raising $534,000, with $466,000 on hand. In an interview, Wachs said he was on track to raise his goal of $3 million to $3.5 million, which he believes is the amount needed to run an effective mayoral campaign.

Each of the candidates, especially Soboroff, has received support from a range of individuals and groups, but each also has his signature supporters: Actress Rene Russo gave $1,000 to Villaraigosa; television magnate Rupert Murdoch donated to Soboroff; political insider Ted Stein, who ran against Hahn in 1997, now is backing him; and internationally acclaimed architect Frank Gehry and his wife have given money to Wachs.

How important is the money at this stage? Candidates with a lot of it say it’s vital; those with less downplay it.

Take Wachs, for instance:

Although pleased by his fund-raising progress, the councilman emphasized that he considers money important as a way to communicate with voters but not as a benchmark of candidates’ relative strength.

Citing such failed candidacies as Al Checchi’s gubernatorial bid and Ross Perot’s presidential campaigns, Wachs downplayed money’s ability to decide the race--and also took a jab at Soboroff, the race’s wealthiest candidate and the councilman’s favorite target.

“If it were true [that money determined the outcome], Donald Trump would be president,” Wachs said. “America doesn’t want a rich real estate developer. I don’t think Los Angeles wants one either.”

The campaign’s fifth major candidate, Rep. Xavier Becerra, did not report any contributions in 1999, but that’s because he did not join the race until last month. In an interview Monday, Becerra said he intends to “gear it up right away,” and hopes to raise at least $2.2 million, the amount allowed under the city’s rules for receiving public matching funds.

This campaign’s unusually early start reflects the big and growing field and illustrates the strategic maneuvering of the various campaigns--from Soboroff’s attempts to make the most of his endorsement by the popular Riordan to Villaraigosa’s work to take advantage of his powerful position as Assembly speaker.

In addition, all the announced candidates hope their early efforts will persuade two undecided officials--state Controller Kathleen Connell and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky--to sit out the race. That would help the others, particularly Wachs and Soboroff, both of whom would face an uphill battle against the better-known Yaroslavsky, who would appeal to many of the same moderate, Westside and San Fernando Valley voters.

The betting on those two potential candidates varies almost daily, but many observers at this point seem inclined to believe that Connell will enter the race sometime in the coming months. Opinion on Yaroslavsky is more divided.

One striking aspect of the early fund-raising for mayor is that money collected now is not matched by public funds. The city’s matching fund rules allow only contributions raised within 12 months of the election--and only those given by individuals--to be matched.

The fact that candidates are soliciting contributions not eligible for matching demonstrates the pressures on them.

Soboroff, a multimillionaire who has never run for elective office and who has indicated a willingness to spend heavily on his own race, needs to move quickly to establish name recognition. Hahn hopes to build a formidable treasury in coming months to persuade potential supporters that his election is inevitable.

Villaraigosa must raise his cash early too, both because he has easier access to it now while serving as speaker--he leaves that post in April--and because his district overlaps Becerra’s, making them early competitors for some of the same potential donors.

“I think I did a rather amazing feat here,” Villaraigosa said Monday of his early fund-raising. Although he trails three rivals in money, Villaraigosa raised his funds very fast: about $312,000 in a month.

It is Soboroff, however, who has shown the greatest discipline in soliciting contributions. Given a boost by a hugely successful fund-raiser at Riordan’s Brentwood home, Soboroff has quickly moved to expand that base.

His report lists donations by more than 3,000 contributors, many of whom his campaign said have never before given to a political candidate. Soboroff lists contributors from across the political and social spectrum: from Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg to Irvine Co. executive Donald Bren to billionaire businessmen Murdoch and Jerrold Perenchio.

“This positions Steve as the strongest candidate in the field,” Smith said. “It shows how much Steve Soboroff has overachieved and how much Jimmy Hahn has underachieved.”

Some Hahn supporters grudgingly acknowledge that he needs to work harder to raise money. But aides to the city attorney say he has assembled a strong fund-raising team in recent weeks. Lawyer and investment banker Bill Wardlaw, who has been Riordan’s most important advisor, heads that effort. It also includes developer Ed Roski, a part owner of the Staples Center, lawyer Ron Olson and Stein, whom Hahn defeated for city attorney in 1997.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Money and the Mayor’s Race

The election for mayor of Los Angeles is more than a year away, but the leading candidates have already raised more than $2 million, 1999 figures show.

XAVIER BECERRA

U.S. congressman

Not reporting

Becerra announced his candidacy last week.

***

JAMES K. HAHN

L.A. city attorney

Contributions: $638,073

Expenditures: $140,568

Cash on hand: $516,939

***

STEVE SOBOROFF

Real estate executive

Contributions: $1,357,478

Expenditures: $270,203

Cash on hand: $1,103,061

***

ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA

California Assembly speaker

Contributions: $346,915

Expenditures: $21,777

Cash on hand: $325,138

Note: Villaraigosa’s totals are through Jan. 22, 2000, not Dec. 31, 1999, because different rules apply to him as a state official who helps raise money for other candidates.

***

JOEL WACHS

City councilman

Contributions: $533,999

Expenditures: $69,945

Cash on hand: $465,897

Sources: Times reports