Bankroll Disparity Widens Sharply

Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa has raised $2.3 million more than incumbent James K. Hahn in the mayoral runoff campaign, giving him a huge financial advantage as he makes his closing argument to Los Angeles voters this weekend.

The last preelection finance reports, filed Friday with the city Ethics Commission, show that Villaraigosa has raised nearly $3.8 million, more than 2 1/2 times as much as the incumbent, who collected about $1.4 million.

Both candidates have received $1 million each in public matching money. With his money-raising advantage and the taxpayer funds, Villaraigosa has been able to spend $4.3 million on his runoff campaign, more than double the amount Hahn has spent.

The gap is most evident in spending on television, the primary way citywide candidates try to reach voters. Villaraigosa, a former state Assembly speaker, has spent $3 million, compared with $1.2 million by the mayor.

Four years ago, Hahn and Villaraigosa were almost evenly matched, spending about $2 million each on television.

Professor Ann Crigler, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, said the latest figures do not bode well for Hahn. “Normally, you would think the mayor would have a lot more going for him, including fundraising,” she said. “I think this fundraising is just another measure of the weakness of his campaign.”

Hahn acknowledged Friday that he trails in fundraising, but said he hopes to overcome that disadvantage with an aggressive effort.

“We have the resources to get our message out, and the best way to get our message out is person-to-person,” Hahn said.

Ace Smith, campaign manager for Villaraigosa, scoffed at Hahn’s claim.

“Our people-to-people, door-to-door effort will be twice Jim Hahn’s because we have twice as many volunteers,” he said.

Smith said the difference in fundraising is telling. “It shows the depth and breadth of support for Antonio,” he said.

From May 1 through Wednesday, Villaraigosa raised $836,483, more than triple the amount collected by Hahn.

Villaraigosa also continued to raise far more money from donors outside California. He received $158,825 of his contributions in the first 11 days of May from outside the state, and Hahn raised $21,450 from other states.

The flood of donations to Villaraigosa was fueled in part by some Hahn donors covering their bets as the May 17 election nears. Nine executives with the New York-based development firm the Related Cos. contributed $9,000 to Villaraigosa this week.

The company is designing a huge $1.2-billion project for Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles that will need city approval. The company had previously given $9,000 to Hahn.

Some of Villaraigosa’s contributions came from donors who supported former state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg in the first round of the election, but joined Hertzberg backers at a fundraiser for Villaraigosa on Monday.

“I’m very disappointed with the lackluster leadership provided by this mayor,” said attorney Lisa Specht, who is a former Hertzberg backer and was co-chairwoman of Hahn’s 2001 campaign.

Villaraigosa also received $1,000 each from former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, former Los Angeles Police Commissioner T. Warren Jackson, Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), former U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor, Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) and film director Rob Reiner.

Hahn drew on heavy support from organized labor and business interests this month. Those who contributed $1,000 each to the mayor’s reelection effort include John Berberian, president of Jon’s Marketplace; Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-owner of DreamWorks SKG; the Los Angeles County Firefighters Assn.; Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council; Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters; Los Angeles Police Protective League; Los Angeles Professional Managers Assn. and Laborers Local 300.

He also received $1,000 each from police commissioners David Cunningham III and Rick Caruso, and deputy mayors Doane Liu and Carmel Sella.

Also on Friday, the Hahn campaign criticized Villaraigosa for releasing a heavily redacted version of his most recent schedules. “I think it’s the height of hypocrisy when a guy mounts an entire part of a campaign screaming about transparency,” said Hahn strategist Kam Kuwata.

Villaraigosa originally released his complete calendar and blasted the mayor for initially refusing to do so.

But the tables turned after Villaraigosa became embroiled in a controversy about questionable contributions from employees of two Florida companies. Villaraigosa’s calendar revealed that he had dined with the president of one company a day before donations poured in from employees of an affiliated company.

When Villaraigosa released his most recent schedules this week, numerous meetings had been blacked out, including campaign events.

“We provided the information that was requested. Jim Hahn has not provided his campaign calendar,” said Villaraigosa spokesman Joe Ramallo.

Hahn and Villaraigosa campaigned Friday throughout the city.

Villaraigosa participated in a mock news conference with journalism students at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, where he picked up the endorsement of a former Hahn supporter, Councilman Tony Cardenas. “I’ve worked with Antonio for many years, and I think it’s time for a positive change,” Cardenas said.

Hahn kept his focus on public safety and education at a news conference downtown and at a Rock the Vote event in South Los Angeles.

The mayor renewed his attack on Villaraigosa for a 1996 vote as a state assemblyman against the Tyler Jaeger Act, which increased penalties against child abusers who kill a child. Hahn charged that Villaraigosa has changed his story about why he opposed the bill, first saying there was a rider on the bill, then saying he favored another bill.

“It’s another example of the kind of contortions and distortions that have typified his campaign,” Hahn said outside the downtown county courthouse. He was joined at the event by Cunningham, the police commissioner, and police union director Peter Repovich.

Although the mayor trailed the councilman by 11% in a recent Times poll, Hahn said he believes he is closing the gap. “I’d sure like to be the guy who is gaining ground every day rather than the guy who is looking over my shoulder losing ground every day,” he said.

At his news conference with students, Villaraigosa answered questions from the Birmingham teenagers on schools, traffic, the significance of his candidacy as a Latino and San Fernando Valley secession. But once TV and print reporters got their turn, Villaraigosa confronted questions about his opposition to the Tyler Jaeger Act.

“This is what happened. I voted for another bill the next week that was better written. It was a bill that was more comprehensive, would cover more people,” he said.

That bill would have increased penalties for second-degree murderers. Villaraigosa voted against it when it was in the Assembly Appropriations Committee but for it when it reached the full Assembly. The Hahn campaign characterized that as another flip-flop.

Villaraigosa was questioned about the apparent contradiction.

“In Appropriations, you vote on the fiscal implication of a bill,” he said. “I voted against it on the fiscal grounds, and I voted for it on public policy.”

Villaraigosa’s campaign filed a complaint with the city Ethics Commission on Friday, alleging that Hahn’s campaign has not properly filed scripts with the panel for new attack phone calls.

“We are also calling on the Hahn campaign to stop these sleazy attacks,” said Smith, the campaign manager for Villaraigosa.

The Times reported Friday that bulletin boards at Hahn’s campaign headquarters are covered with scripts for telephone calls being made by Hahn campaign workers and a Texas firm hired by the campaign.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The money race

Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa has raised 2 1/2 times more money than incumbent James K. Hahn as the race for mayor of Los Angeles heads into its final weekend.

How much they’ve raised:

Antonio Villaraigosa: $3,755,714

James K. Hahn: $1,441,904

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How much they have left:

Antonio Villaraigosa: $526,261*

James K. Hahn: $375,805*

* What’s left includes matching money from the city’s system of public financing for political campaigns. The fundraising figure does not include matching funds.

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Source: Campaign contribution reports

Times staff writers Jessica Garrison and Daniel Hernandez and Times data analyst Sandra Poindexter contributed to this report.