Hahn Has Big Lead Over Rivals in Campaign Cash

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn crossed the $2.2-million mark in fundraising for his reelection campaign during the summer and maintains a substantial lead in campaign funds in the race for the city’s highest office.

Although Hahn has collected the most money overall, campaign contribution reports submitted by candidates Tuesday showed that Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa and Bob Hertzberg, both former Assembly speakers, had out-raised the mayor during the summer quarter and were closing the fundraising gap.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sun Valley) are further back in the field of major candidates, struggling to raise the money needed to mount a citywide campaign.

At the end of September, Hahn had almost $1.8 million on hand to finance his drive for a second term.

Hertzberg, a Los Angeles attorney, had raised $1.1 million by the close of the latest reporting period and had $822,605 in his campaign treasury.

Villaraigosa had collected $643,253 and had $609,553 on hand, according to his campaign report.

In addition to the money he has raised for the campaign, Villaraigosa intends to spend $500,000, primarily on television ads that will feature him, to promote passage of Measure A on the November ballot. The measure would raise the sales tax to pay for more police officers and sheriff’s deputies in Los Angeles County.

Villaraigosa would pay for the ads with money from a separate campaign account left over from his days as speaker of the state Assembly.

Villaraigosa, who was the last of the five candidates to enter the race, opening his campaign in early August, raised all his mayoral campaign money noted in the report during the summer quarter: July through September. Hertzberg brought in $401,027 during that period, while Hahn raised $315,278.

Parks had collected $400,800 in total by the end of the summer period, including a personal loan of $50,000. His campaign has $267,010 on hand.

Alarcon was a distant fifth. His campaign reported $254,438 in donations and $179,528 available.

Altogether, the five major candidates had collected more than $4.6 million in campaign contributions with five months remaining until the March 8 election.

“It’s already shaping up as a very expensive race,” said Raphael Sonenshein, a Cal State Fullerton political scientist and an expert on city politics.

Although Hahn holds the lead in fundraising, Sonenshein said Villaraigosa and Hertzberg “are not out of reach.”

Sonenshein expressed surprise at the ability of the mayoral candidates to raise as much as they have in the midst of a heated presidential campaign. “It’s amazing anyone is raising anything at all for this race,” Sonenshein said.

Parke Skelton, campaign consultant to Villaraigosa, said his candidate got into the race late but has done “a remarkable job” of raising money since then. “He’s been raising a lot of the easiest money first.”

Skelton said Villaraigosa would continue his quest for campaign funds by tapping contributors to his first race for mayor.

Hertzberg spokesman Matt Szabo seized on Hahn’s slow fundraising pace during the summer.

“Jim Hahn should get used to coming in third. It’s a sign of things to come” in the March election, he said.

But Hahn campaign spokesman Kam Kuwata rejected such talk, saying the mayor is the only candidate in the race who has waged successful campaigns for citywide office, for mayor and city attorney.

Kuwata said what’s most important is the amount of money available to communicate with voters, not which candidate raised the most in the most recent period.

“We don’t have as big a mountain to climb as the other candidates,” Kuwata said. “We are at least two to three to four times ahead of them in terms of resources available. It’s our belief that’s what matters.”

The Hahn campaign has been busy “laying the groundwork for what takes place after the first of the year,” Kuwata said.

All of the candidates face a difficult time raising money during the holiday period from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, Skelton said.

“It’s not the easiest time to raise money for campaigns.”

*

(Begin Text of Infobox)

What they’ve raised

*

As of the end of September, James K. Hahn had raised the most money for the Los Angeles mayor’s race. But Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg raised more than the mayor during the latest reporting period.

*

James K. Hahn

Total campaign fundraising: $2,268,302

Cash on hand: $1,783,030

*

Bob Hertzberg

Total campaign fundraising: $1,100,076

Cash on hand: $822,605

*

Antonio Villaraigosa

Total campaign fundraising: $643,253

Cash on hand: $609,553

*

Bernard C. Parks

Total campaign fundraising: $400,800

Cash on hand: $267,010

*

Richard Alarcon

Total campaign fundraising: $254,438

Cash on hand: $179,528

*

Source: Campaign contribution reports