Knox, Kuehl Raise Nearly $2 Million for Primary

With less than two weeks to the March 7 primary elections, the two candidates for the Democratic nomination in the state’s 23rd Senate District have together raised almost $2 million, campaign finance reports filed Thursday show, making it one of the most costly legislative primary campaigns in California history.

In what has been hailed by some as the “Super Bowl of state legislative races,” Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) finally began to close the financial gap between himself and his friend, Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica).

Knox still trails Kuehl financially, however, having raised $923,344. Kuehl has pulled in a total of $1.029 million, according to her campaign consultant, Parke Skelton.

Term limits have forced the political allies to face off in a hard-fought battle for the Senate seat being vacated by Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) in one of the wealthiest districts in the country. It includes the area from Hancock Park to Malibu, and over the Santa Monica Mountains into the southern part of the Valley.

The Knox campaign chest includes more than $250,000 in loans. In this, the final reporting period before the election, in which candidates are required to report contributions received between Jan. 23 and Feb. 19, Kuehl raised more than twice as much as Knox.

Knox had hoped a Feb. 10 fund-raiser at Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s residence in Brentwood would rake cash into his coffers--but he reported raising only $139,000 in the last three weeks.

*

In the nearby 21st Senate District, term limits have also forced two popular local Democrats into a fight for political survival. Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) is running against Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles) in a skirmish to determine who will bear the Democratic standard in the race to succeed state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank).

Thursday’s campaign finance reports show Scott has raised almost twice as much as Wildman, considerably widening his financial lead over the former fourth-grade teacher in the last three weeks.

Scott has raised $918,000 to date, and $342,000 in the most recent reporting period, which ended Saturday. That compares with Wildman’s total of $510,000.

Scott raised three times as much as Wildman in this reporting period.

A Scott campaign worker said the former Pasadena City College president received significant contributions from the California Correctional Police Officers Assn., real estate interests, and a fund-raiser at a private home in Pasadena on Sunday.

Wildman’s campaign manager, Will Heron, said fund-raising was on target. Wildman had a fund-raiser at the Conga Room in Los Angeles on Thursday night sponsored by fellow Democratic politicians such as state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar). Tickets cost $250 each, and contributors received a free half-hour salsa lesson.

Unlike the Kuehl-Knox race, in which the winner of the primary is virtually guaranteed a victory in November, the winner of the Democratic primary in the 21st District will probably face a tough fight against popular Republican South Pasadena Councilman Paul Zee in November.

Meanwhile, Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels raised $83,000 over the last month, but Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) maintained a wide lead in fund-raising as both Republicans pushed toward the primary in the 19th Senate District.

In the bitter race, Mikels, who was down to her last $30,500 in late January, received a big boost from the lawmaker she hopes to replace, retiring Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley). Wright donated $24,500 for campaign mailers to defeat McClintock, a Republican maverick and anti-tax crusader who is her longtime legislative enemy.

“I think Judy is a well-qualified woman,” said Wright, the only Republican woman in the Senate. “And I think it’s high time we start supporting Republican women, especially if it’s an open seat.”

But McClintock appears in far better shape to blanket the district with campaign mailers over the next two weeks. The district includes most of Ventura County and parts of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

McClintock donations totaled $62,000 for the four-week period ending Saturday. And even after spending $129,000 to pepper voters with mailers, the veteran assemblyman still had $183,000 available. That compares with Mikels’ balance of nearly $57,000.

“We’re on track, on budget and on schedule,” McClintock said. “I’ll spend it all. Whenever I’m in a contested race I take no chances. I take each race very seriously.”

*

Local Assembly races have also seen a surge in contributions in recent weeks.

In the 44th Assembly District, Democrat Carol Liu, the La Canada-Flintridge mayor and former schoolteacher, may have set a local record in loans for the primary season, reporting a total of $500,000. Including the loans, Liu has raised $643,359, her campaign manager said.

That puts her significantly ahead of former Screen Actors Guild president and veteran Democrat political candidate Barry Gordon, who has raised $371,849--of which $40,000 is in loans.

Campaign finance reports were not available Thursday for the other candidates in the race.

In the safely left-of-center 42nd Assembly District race--which observers have predicted could break state fund-raising records for two candidates in an Assembly primary--Democrat candidate Amanda Susskind reported raising $547,633 to date. West Hollywood City Councilman Paul Koretz’s statements were not available.

Dan Stone--the third Democrat in the race--reported raising $250,000, of which $80,000 is in loans. He said he will shower voters with mailers in the final weeks that will keep him in the race.