Epple’s Spending Doubled Rival’s in Democratic Race

Attorney Robert D. Epple and his supporters spent about $600,000 in his drive to win the Democratic nomination in the 63rd Assembly District, about twice the amount spent in the losing campaign of primary opponent Peter Ohanesian.

Campaign spending reports filed last week document the extensive financial assistance showered on Epple by the state Democratic Party and Democratic legislators who perceived Ohanesian as a threat to the Assembly’s party leadership.

Power Struggle Benefits

Altogether, Epple spent about $438,000. An additional $190,000 worth of services and mailings were donated to his election effort by the party and supporters. The state party alone spent $150,000 on Epple mailers, and Democratic Assembly members contributed more than $150,000 to Epple’s campaign to help him beat Ohanesian.

A veteran party worker from Norwalk, Epple benefited from the Assembly power struggle between Democratic speaker Willie Brown and a rebellious band of five Democrats known as the Gang of Five. Handsomely bankrolled Brown allies in the Assembly saw Epple as a supporter and helped him accordingly, while the Gang of Five didn’t have nearly as much money to give to their confederate, Ohanesian, a Downey resident who runs a marketing firm.

Although Ohanesian missed last Monday’s filing deadline, he said his final report will indicate that he spent about $312,000 on the primary, virtually the same amount he raised. His main financial backers were Gang of Five member Charles Calderon of Montebello, a longtime friend, and a political group formed by the rebels, the California Leadership Council.

During the campaign, Ohanesian complained that Brown’s forces were trying to buy Epple’s victory, and last week he again blamed his loss on the size of Epple’s war chest.

Epple is running against Republican incumbent Wayne Grisham of Norwalk in the November general election, a race that is also expected to attract heavy spending. Campaign watchers say Epple is likely to draw continued financial support from the Brown camp and state Democrats eager to recapture the district, where a majority of registered voters are Democrats. Stretching from Santa Fe Springs to Lakewood and from Downey to La Mirada, the district is just as important to Republicans, who are trying to gain control of the Legislature.

Money Transfers Forbidden

What’s more, campaign spending reforms passed in a statewide referendum in June are pressuring legislators to spend liberally this fall. Once the initiative takes effect in January, it will prohibit candidates from spending previously raised campaign funds on elections occurring after the new year.

Additionally, the reforms bar the transfer of campaign money from one politician to another--a practice extensively used in Epple’s primary campaign. For example, the Assembly’s majority floor leader, Democrat Thomas M. Hannigan of Fairfield, gave $50,000 of his campaign funds to Epple. Assemblyman Johan Klehs (D-San Leandro) contributed $22,500, and Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Tarzana) donated $20,000.

Legislators are “all going to be cleaning out their bank accounts,” noted Dale Hardeman, whose challenge of Grisham in the GOP primary fizzled shortly after it was launched last winter.

Grisham’s reelection committee has raised about $71,000 and spent $73,000, according to reports filed last week. A second campaign committee still has a $186,000 debt from prior elections, but Grisham’s campaign manager said much of that money is owed to supporters and politicians who don’t expect repayment unless Grisham has the funds available.

In the 33rd Senate District, Republican nominee Donald Knabe of Cerritos, has raised about $100,000 so far this year and spent about $112,000. In contrast, his primary challenger, Margaret Vineyard of Hawaiian Gardens, spent only $1,536 on her unsuccessful nomination bid.

Most Expensive Contest

Knabe hopes to dislodge Democrat Cecil Green of Norwalk, a former councilman who won the 33rd Senate seat in a special election last year. Green defeated Grisham in the most expensive contest in Senate history. The political consultant who helped orchestrate Green’s victory predicts this fall’s district race will be the most costly Senate contest in the state--if not as expensive as the special election.

Green is budgeting at least $700,000 for the general election, said political consultant Larry Sheingold, maintaining that to mount a serious challenge, Knabe will have to spend more than that. However, Knabe predicts he’ll spend about $500,000 pursuing the district seat, which represents much the same area as the 63rd Assembly District, along with several Orange County cities.

Green, who was uncontested in the June primary, reports that he has spent $146,000 this year and had $135,000 on hand as of the end of last month.