Davis, Schwarzenegger Far Ahead in Fund-Raising

SACRAMENTO —  Gov. Gray Davis and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged Thursday as by far the most prolific fund-raisers in the recall campaign.

The governor has amassed nearly $4 million to fend off the effort to oust him, according to campaign reports filed with the state Thursday.

Schwarzenegger has raised $3.1 million since announcing last month his decision to run for governor in case Davis is recalled.

Schwarzenegger also has spent heavily, with $1.45 million going to purchase television time. He had $1.6 million in the bank. The actor, who pumped up his campaign coffers with $2 million of his own money, also had $822,000 in campaign debt.

The main campaign committee set up to mount the first-ever effort to recall a California governor reported a paltry $12,000 in the bank, the campaign reports show.

Davis’ aides seized on the reports as evidence that the recall effort is faltering. The report comes less than a week after the Los Angeles Times Poll showed voters closely divided on the recall issue, supporting it 50% to 45%.

With six weeks left before the Oct. 7 election, some candidates seeking to replace Davis, including fellow Democrat Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), reported having relatively modest sums in their campaign accounts.

McClintock, who in recent polls has emerged as Schwarzenegger’s main Republican rival, reported having $194,000 in his gubernatorial campaign account, and received $538,000 in donations this year. He had another $240,000 in his old state Senate account.

Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter V. Ueberroth, trailing Bustamante, Schwarzenegger and McClintock in recent polls, reported having raised $2.3 million since announcing his decision to run for governor; $1 million was his own contribution. He had $1.1 million in his campaign account, and $200,000 in debt.

The Thursday reports reflect campaign fund-raising and spending through last Saturday, and show the sums that candidates have in their accounts -- money available to buy television ad time, for example. A statewide television ad costs about $2.2 million per week.

The filing by Rescue California, the committee that financed the petition drive to put the recall measure on the ballot, was striking. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista),a wealthy car-alarm magnate, is the largest donor by far to Rescue California, having given it $1.76 million in loans out of the $2.79 million donated to the committee.

When Issa gave the $1.76 million, he was planning to run as a replacement candidate. He since has dropped out.

“It is clear that, without their sugar daddy, the pro-recall forces cannot sustain their efforts,” Davis spokesman Roger Salazar said, adding that the $12,000 in Rescue California’s bank account “tells you the general public is not interested in supporting the recall.”

“It is a perfect example of the lagging support of this ridiculous effort,” Salazar said.

David Gilliard, the main consultant for the Rescue California committee, said that none of the candidates vying to replace the Democratic incumbent would succeed unless a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of turning Davis out of office on Oct. 7. A second question on the ballot asks who should replace Davis if the governor is recalled.

“If we fail,” Gilliard said of the recall effort, “it doesn’t matter if Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom McClintock, Peter Ueberroth or some other candidate comes in first on the second question.”

One month ago, when Issa still intended to run for governor, Gilliard estimated that the recall committee’s budget would be $15 million.

“I consider that a minimum,” Gilliard said last month. “I want to get that to $21 million.”

Candidates and committees are under intense pressure to raise huge sums in a condensed period. Davis, for one, has set a goal of as much as $15 million, as has Bustamante, the one major Democrat running to replace the incumbent.

Davis has nearly $4 million in the bank, and has raised about $6 million this year for his gubernatorial campaign committee and for two committees established to battle the recall effort.

About 34% of his money has come from organized labor this year. During his first term, about 20% came from unions, the main source of money for Democrats.

The reports show that Davis spent $2.225 million to retain firms that specialize in circulating petitions. That was part of a failed effort to block the ability of the recall backers to hire signature gatherers.

Though declining to comment specifically about his fund-raising, Davis said at a news conference Thursday: “I assure you we will have adequate resources to wage a campaign during this recall. Our efforts will not suffer.”

Bustamante reported having raised $836,000 this year, and having $776,000 in the bank. But $440,000 was in an old committee set up for his race in 2002 for lieutenant governor. At the time, there were no limits on the amounts donors could give to statewide candidates.

Since then, limits imposed by Proposition 34, an initiative approved in 2000, have taken hold. Now candidates other than Davis cannot accept donations of more than $21,200 from individual donors. The law permits Davis to accept contributions of unlimited size.

Bustamante’s main expense in the early days of the campaign has been fund-raising. He spent more than $200,000 to set up fund-raising events. He also has transferred $100,000 from his lieutenant governor’s account into the account he set up to run for governor.

The Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday issued a statement suggesting that he may not be permitted to transfer large sums that way.

“The commission has advised that state candidates may not solicit contributions into a pre-Proposition 34 committee for the purpose of using those funds in a post-Proposition 34 election,” the statement said.

Thursday night, Bustamante campaign strategist Richie Ross said the campaign’s attorneys had consulted the commission and had been assured that the lieutenant governor’s fund-raising techniques are legal.

“Our lawyers have talked to them, and the commission’s published statement appeared to contradict the conversations the campaign had with the FPPC,” Ross said.

Meanwhile, McClintock, who is running as a fiscal conservative, reported that his biggest expense, $53,000, was for signs. He spent another $30,000 for mass mailings and has spent $815 on airfare.

Schwarzenegger, by contrast, has spent at least $486,000 on consultants and polling since he entered the race.

Unlike many candidates, Schwarzenegger does not list specific restaurants and hotels frequented by his campaign aides. But he did report reimbursing them $50,400 in travel and lodging costs.

Ueberroth’s biggest expense, $735,000, was for radio air time. He also spent $60,000 on polling.

On Thursday, candidates busied themselves prospecting for money.

Davis followed Bustamante and McClintock at a closed-door conference of the California Indian Nations Gaming Assn., which was attended by more than 150 tribal leaders and their representatives.

At least one tribal lobbyist, Paula Treat, is suggesting that tribes donate to McClintock, sending e-mails to other lobbyists providing McClintock’s campaign address. Bustamante, also a supporter of tribal issues, received $321,200 from one tribe earlier this week.

Among the other candidates, independent Arianna Huffington raised $334,171 and has $87,845 left.

Huffington said most of her 2,000 donors had given her $100 or less.

“That’s really the type of campaign I’ve wanted to run from the beginning,” she said, adding that she hopes to “create a new template” for fund-raising by relying on large numbers of small donors.

Bay Area venture capitalist Garrett Gruener received no donations other than the $500,000 he gave to his campaign.

He reported having $300,000 in cash left, and campaign debts of $128,000.

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, who gave himself $50,000, spent $20,000 for polling.

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Times staff writers Jessica Garrison and Matea Gold contributed to this report.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Financial Reports

Candidates and committees raising funds in the recall campaign were required to file financial reports with the California secretary of state’s office on Thursday. The following totals are as of Saturday:

Cruz Bustamante

Cash on hand...$336,908

Outstanding debt...$38,525

Arianna Huffington

Cash on hand...$87,845

Outstanding debt...$14,480

Tom McClintock

Cash on hand...$194,073

Outstanding debt...$2,050

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Cash on hand...$1,614,784

Outstanding debt...$822,242

Peter V. Ueberroth

Cash on hand...$1,100,916

Outstanding debt...$219,303

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Pro-Recall Committees

Rescue California

Cash on hand...$12,086

Outstanding debt...$1,833,832

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall Campaign

Cash on hand...$100,000

Outstanding debts...$331,690

Recall Gray Davis Committee

Cash on hand...$30,906

Outstanding debt...none

Davis Recall Committee

Cash on hand...$15,797

Outstanding debt...$100,000

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Anti-Recall Committees

Taxpayers Against the Governor’s Recall

Cash on hand...$93,609

Outstanding debt...$555,997

Californians Against

the Costly Recall

of the Governor

Cash on hand...$2,962,509

Outstanding debt...$500,000

Californians for Stability -- No on the Governor’s Recall

(Controlled by Cruz Bustamante)

Cash on hand...$17,500

Outstanding debt...$9,971

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Source: Campaign contribution reports filed with the secretary of state. Researched by: Times staff writers Joel Rubin and Maloy Moore

Los Angeles Times