Hertzberg Leads Mayoral Challengers in Fundraising

Less than six weeks after joining the campaign to challenge Mayor James K. Hahn in next year’s mayoral election, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg announced Wednesday that he had raised $200,000, quickly establishing himself as Hahn’s best-funded opponent.

The mayor, who began his campaign in 2003, has raised more than $1.3 million. His challengers are only now beginning to raise funds for a race that is expected to cost millions of dollars.

State Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), who declared his candidacy nearly three months ago, said Wednesday that he had raised about $100,000.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who has launched an exploratory mayoral campaign, said he had not held any fundraisers. The former Los Angeles police chief said Wednesday that he would decide next week whether to challenge Hahn.

With nine months before the March election, the race for dollars is becoming increasingly important as challengers try to position themselves to force Hahn into a runoff next June.

Three years ago, candidates spent more than $18 million in the March primary. Hahn, who finished second in the contest to Antonio Villaraigosa, spent more than $4.4 million; Villaraigosa spent $3.8 million. Third-place finisher Steve Soboroff spent more than $4.1 million.

This election cycle, most candidates started fundraising later. But political strategists said that to be successful, candidates would have to spend more than the $2.25-million voluntary spending limit set out in local campaign finance guidelines.

“Anyone running for mayor has to be operating under the assumption that the limits will be broken,” said veteran Democratic strategist Parke Skelton, who ran Villaraigosa’s 2001 campaign. Villaraigosa is considering another run for mayor.

With his big head start, Hahn had amassed $1.3 million by the end of last year and is expected to significantly exceed that by the time candidates are required to report their donations again at the end of June.

The mayor would not speculate about how much he would need to spend, but he said he was pleased by his fundraising.

“The earlier you get started, the more you’re going to be able to do,” Hahn said.

Hertzberg raised his $200,000 in 40 days, reaching that milestone more quickly than any other mayoral candidate in at least the last three elections. He did it in part with fundraisers, including one that had been scheduled at the home of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. It was rescheduled because it conflicted with a Laker playoff game.

“We’re very encouraged by the response that we’ve seen,” Hertzberg campaign consultant John Shallman said Wednesday. “He’s moving fast.”

With low name recognition -- a recent poll found that more than 80% of Angelenos don’t know who he is -- Hertzberg will have to advertise more than his foes, political strategists said.

A decade ago, Riordan faced a similar challenge, said Arnold Steinberg, a Republican consultant who worked on Riordan’s 1993 and 1997 campaigns.

“You can acquire name recognition very quickly with a lot of money,” Steinberg said.

Shallman said Hertzberg planned to spend at least $2 million and was committed to raising and spending more if necessary.

Alarcon, who in March became the first serious challenger to enter the mayoral race, said he planned to raise $1.5 million and was confident that amount would make him competitive.

“I’m on my budget, and that’s the only thing I care about,” Alarcon said, adding that he planned to reach the $200,000 milestone by month’s end.

“Bob Hertzberg is a tremendous fundraiser,” Alarcon said. “I anticipated that he would raise a lot of money. I also thought his campaign would be more costly because of his lesser visibility.”

Parks is widely considered the best known of Hahn’s challengers, making his fundraising needs less acute. Parks said he did not yet know how much he would spend should he decide to run.

Times staff writer Jessica Garrison contributed to this report.