Big Donors Gave to Party to Help Villaraigosa

Billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle, two of Los Angeles’ most influential figures and major backers of Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign for mayor, gave $200,000 to the state Democratic Party in the weeks before the April mayoral election.

Their contributions bolstered the party’s efforts on Villaraigosa’s behalf and effectively circumvented the city’s limits on campaign contributions.

Even more significant, at least in dollar amount, were $250,000 contributions to the party from both the California Teachers Assn. and the Service Employees International Union. The Democratic National Committee also gave the state party $240,000.

Although it is impossible to track precisely how the money was spent, the contributions represent an enormous influence on the city elections. By giving to the party, the donors effectively avoided the limits on political donations imposed by Los Angeles’ campaign laws, while still helping to influence the outcome.

The city generally restricts individuals and businesses to a maximum contribution of $1,000 in the mayor’s race. That limit was raised to $7,000 in the final month before the April election because two wealthy candidates gave heavily to their own campaigns.

But the donations by Broad, chairman of SunAmerica, and by Burkle, head of the Yucaipa Cos., eclipsed those limits. Both also have given directly to the Villaraigosa campaign.

Their donations were disclosed in a quarterly report filed late Monday in Sacramento by the Democratic State Central Committee. That report does not include any donations given in the final days of the campaign, whose first round ended April 10.

The 420-page document shows that the state party raised $1.8 million during the first three months of the year, in part to mount a major effort to help former Assembly Speaker Villaraigosa capture the top spot in the election. He is now locked in a heated campaign with City Atty. James K. Hahn with little more than a month to go before the June 5 runoff.

The report does not break down how much was spent on the state party’s mailers, phone banks and staff dedicated to electing Villaraigosa.

State Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres said at least $500,000 was spent by the party to support Villaraigosa’s mayoral bid, to promote candidates for city attorney and controller and to push for passage of community college bonds.

Under a loophole created last November when the state’s voters approved Proposition 34, political parties do not have to disclose the amount raised or spent on communications with their membership until after off-year municipal elections.

Labor unions and other organizations that do such membership communications never have to disclose fund-raising and spending.

The contributions by Villaraigosa’s well-heeled backers to the state party have raised questions about the ability to get around the city’s complex campaign finance laws, designed to limit contributions and spending in Los Angeles elections.

Faced with the deluge of contributions in the first round of the mayoral campaign, the city Ethics Commission has asked the City Council to try to force disclosure of contributions and spending by political parties and other organizations.

Hahn has joined that call, protesting that the ability to give unlimited amounts to political parties makes a mockery of the city’s campaign finance laws.

Hahn campaign spokesman Kam Kuwata said the fund-raising and spending by the state party “basically appears to have violated the spirit of the L.A. law, which prohibits contributions of over $1,000 to committees or campaigns.”

Kuwata expressed the hope that the City Council will not “allow the great cover-up to continue.” He said it is improper to “allow money to be funneled into the Democratic Party, hide its origins and secretly funnel that money out on behalf of Antonio Villaraigosa.”

Villaraigosa campaign consultant Parke Skelton said the candidate supports the disclosure proposal pending before the council as long as it applies equally to political parties, unions and other organizations.

Skelton said he doesn’t believe Hahn has “much right to complain” about the state party’s fund-raising and spending, since he sought but failed to win the party’s endorsement.

He was sharply critical of a billboard company’s recent $250,000 independent expenditure on Hahn’s behalf and criticized the effort by Hahn’s backers to establish their own independent expenditure committee.

Kuwata replied that such activity has and will be disclosed before the June election.

“The people of Los Angeles deserve full and complete disclosure, and we only have partial, incomplete disclosure today,” he said.

Melissa Ratcliff, a spokeswoman for Broad, said there was nothing unusual about his donation. “He is a lifelong Democrat with a long history of contributing generously to the party in support of various causes and candidates,” she said.

The $100,000 check was “in support of the . . . party and the work they do” and was not designated for the effort to elect Villaraigosa.

Ratcliff said Broad’s political contributions and philanthropic activity have increased in recent years as his wealth has grown. She acknowledged that Broad is helping Villaraigosa with fund-raising.

Burkle, who is a Republican, said he and Broad gave to the state Democratic Party--as they have done often in the past--because “we just want to see good candidates in place.”

“All of the things done were perfectly legal,” he said.

Donations to the political parties to get out the vote or send out slate mailers “doesn’t trouble me at all,” he said.

Burkle defended the contributions, saying he does not think the city’s laws were intended to stop the Democratic or Republican parties from engaging in such activity.

He said he supports the Ethics Commission proposal to require disclosure of contributions to the political parties and unions before the voters go to the polls. “I think people have a right to know,” he said.

A report filed by the California Republican Party shows that the GOP mounted a major financial effort to assist commercial real estate broker Steve Soboroff, who finished third in the April balloting.

Jim Camp, political director of the state GOP, estimated that the party spent $500,000 on a series of mailers and other activities backing Soboroff and attacking the five other major candidates in the mayor’s race.

Geoff Palmer, a Los Angeles apartment developer, gave $100,000 to the Republican Party.

Univision chief Jerry Perenchio, developer Alexander Haagen III, businessman and possible gubernatorial candidate William Simon Jr. and David Saperstein, founder of Metro Networks, each gave $10,000 apiece.

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Political Donations

Major donors to the state Democratic Party during the first three months of this year included individuals, businesses and labor unions. The party has mounted a major effort to elect Antonio Villaraigosa mayor of Los Angeles. He is in a June 5 runoff against City Atty. James K. Hahn.

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Donor Amount California Teachers Assn. $250,000 Service Employees International Union $250,000 Democratic National Committee $240,000 Stephen L. Bing, screenwriter $100,000 Eli Broad, chairman, SunAmerica $100,000 Ron Burkle, supermarket magnate $100,000 Cadiz Inc. $50,000

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Many of the major donors to the state Republican Party during the same period were individuals. The party waged an unsuccesful campaign to promote commercial real estate broker Steve Soboroff for mayor.

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Donor Amount Geoff Palmer, apartment developer $100,000 Alexander Haagen III, developer $10,000 John Kissick, investor $10,000 Jerry Perenchio, Univision chief $10,000 David Saperstein, founder, Metro Networks, Houston $10,000 Mace Siegel, developer $10,000 William Simon Jr., businessman $10,000

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Source: Campaign reports filed with the secretary of state’s office