Bid to Get Boss’s Job Costs $128,000 So Far : Deputy Holbert’s Spending Contrasts With $11,363 Raised by Assessor Jacobs by May 17

A deputy county assessor is spending more than $128,000 from his deceased mother’s estate in a bid to defeat his boss and win an office that pays $70,907 a year, campaign finance documents showed Friday.

“Some things are more important than having money,” said David J. Holbert, the deputy who is challenging three-term Assessor Bradley L. Jacobs in the June 3 election.

“I’m not good at fund raising and I hate to ask people for money. . . . This way I don’t have to feel obligated to anybody,” Holbert said. “There’s more money that’s going to be disclosed tomorrow. I feel very strongly about this election.”

But Jacobs said, “I guess you’d have to wonder why anyone would spend that much money on what is really a non-political, nonpartisan office.” Jacobs reported raising $11,363 as of May 17, the closing date for disclosure documents filed this week at the county registrar’s office.

‘Predecessors Left Mess’

“A lot of people don’t remember why I’m not still in private industry,” Jacobs said. “It’s because my two predecessors, who were very much involved in politics, left a big mess when they went to the state penitentiary, and I was appointed to clean up that mess,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs’ two predecessors were former U.S. Rep. Andrew J. Hinshaw and Jack Vallerga. Both went to prison for misappropriating public funds when then-Assessor Hinshaw ran for Congress in 1974. Hinshaw also went to prison for accepting a bribe in the assessor’s office.

However, Jacobs did not accuse Holbert of wrongdoing Friday.

He was even unaware of controversial envelopes used by Holbert’s campaign. The envelopes, which contain a claim that Holbert is the only candidate who has always supported Proposition 13, appear to be an official document from the assessor’s office. The envelopes bear an orange replica of the official county seal, the words “Deputy Assessor David Holbert,” in the upper left-hand corner, a see-through window for the addressee, and the words “tax information enclosed” and “open immediately--time value.”

Told of the envelope, Jacobs said that he thought that it was “unfair” to mislead voters but that he wouldn’t comment further because he had not seen it.

Jacobs’ office said it was referring complaints and inquiries about Holbert’s envelopes to the district attorney’s office.

Use Not Restricted

Assistant Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi said there are no laws restricting the use of the county seal or making documents look official as long as they don’t actually claim to be so.

Holbert’s envelopes contained a mandatory campaign committee identification statement on the back of the gummed flap.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Holbert said. “There is valuable tax information inside, and it has time value since June 3 is getting close.”

Holbert said he did not know how many pieces had been delivered to voters but acknowledged that his campaign is spending large sums on countywide mail, while Jacobs has spent about $10,000 for a few small mailings.

Holbert, who joined the assessor’s office in 1972, declined to specify how much money he intends to pump into his campaign. He said all but about $2,000 of his war chest is coming from the sale of his mother’s home in Gardena. He said his mother, Regina C. Holbert, died in 1984.