2 City Attorney Candidates Near Primary’s Fund-Raising Limits

With almost six weeks to go to election day, two of the candidates for Los Angeles city attorney are within striking distance of securing the maximum they can spend by the April 10 primary, the latest round of campaign finance reports revealed Thursday.

City Councilman Mike Feuer has raised a total of $609,685; with the $179,456 in public matching funds he recently received, Feuer has amassed nearly $800,000 since launching his campaign two years ago.

Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo, who now oversees Mayor Richard Riordan’s economic development efforts, has raised $676,646 to date and expects to begin collecting matching funds soon.

The two easily outdistanced the other two candidates in the race and, when matching funds were taken into account, were nearing the maximum $990,000 allowed for primary campaign spending. All the candidates agreed to abide by the city-set maximum when they decided to augment their campaign treasuries with public funds set aside for political contests.

Fund-raising was considerably more lopsided in the city controller’s race.

City Councilwoman Laura Chick collected another $30,535 during the latest reporting period, from Jan. 1 through Feb. 24, bringing her total since entering the race in late 1999 to $385,821. Her main competitor, business executive Laurette Healey, who jumped into the contest in January with Riordan’s backing, reported raising $73,125--including $30,000 in loans to herself.

Although Healey said she has met her initial fund-raising goal, her comparatively sparse finances at this point in the race have raised questions about her viability as a candidate.

A fund-raiser last week hosted by the mayor and his wife, Nancy Daly Riordan, provided most of the rest of Healey’s campaign treasury. Bill Carrick, her consultant, said he is not particularly worried that Healey has not raised much on her own yet.

“Obviously it’s a serious challenge to try to raise money when you haven’t run before, but she’s got some momentum, some more events on the books, and she is going to continue to raise money,” Carrick said.

Carrick said Healey will get a boost when she qualifies for matching funds and should have enough money to reach voters through the mail, and possibly cable TV, to let them know about her business experience and her support from Riordan.

Chick scared off most potential challengers when she entered the race in October 1999, and began sewing up endorsements from an array of elected officials, including the retiring incumbent Controller Rick Tuttle, labor unions and civic groups.

She ended the reporting period with $233,429 left to spend; Healey had $55,995 in the bank. Under city campaign rules, Chick will qualify for matching funds if Healey garners $100,000 in contributions.

The other controller candidate on the ballot, author and investment banker Mervin Evans, said Thursday he had not yet begun his fund-raising.

In the city attorney’s race, Delgadillo raised $82,771 during the reporting period and had $404,135 left to spend. He has just one more major fund-raising event, scheduled for March 13, featuring Magic Johnson and Riordan. The mayor has not endorsed a candidate.

Feuer brought in somewhat less--$51,946--than Delgadillo this period, but had more in the bank--$523,694, thanks to the matching funds. His campaign expects him to qualify for additional matching funds soon.

The other candidates lagged behind Delgadillo and Feuer.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea Purwin D’Agostino, the only woman in the race, raised $39,575 this period, bringing her total contributions to $197,651. She received $80,572 in matching funds and had $166,228 on hand at the end of the reporting period. Deputy Dist. Atty. Frank Tavelman has raised a total of $18,080, including $3,310 this period and had $11,862 remaining.