This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Spending Tops $7.5 Million in L.A. City Council, School Board Races

Council District 8 and School District 5 continue to be money magnets as the campaigns enter the homestretch.

Total spending in Los Angeles City Council and school board races has surpassed $7.5 million in the waning days of the 2011 municipal elections with about $1.5 million being spent in the last two weeks, according to financial disclosure forms filed Friday with the city Ethics Commission.

Candidates for seven council seats spent $2.84 million, a roughly 30 percent jump in spending since the last filing deadline on Feb. 19. Los Angeles Board of Education candidates vying for four seats have spent $453,698 to date, about $110,000 in the last two weeks.

Spending by independent committees continues to dominate council and, especially, school board contests. Of the $7.6 million spent so far, about $4.3 million has come from committees opposing or supporting candidates.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In council races, most of the independent spending has centered on District 8, where incumbent Bernard Parks is facing a tough challenge from nonprofit director Forescee Hogan-Rowles. Independent committees put up an additional $113,000 for council races in recent weeks, with $91,000 of that flowing into District 8.

Parks still holds a 3-1 fundraising lead over Hogan-Rowles, collecting $319,000 so far. Unions, however, have pumped in nearly $1 million in independent spending for his challenger. Parks has received about $137,000 in independent help, mostly from business groups.

Find out what's happening in Venice-Mar Vistawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In another closely contested council race, District 14 incumbent Jose Huizar has raised $393,207 to date compared with $283,618 by closest challenger Rudy Martinez. Independent spending has topped $130,000 with the majority going to Huizar.

Elsewhere, council incumbents continued to outraise and outspend challengers. District 2 Councilman Paul Krekorian, seeking his first full term, has raised $71,693; Tom LaBonge in District 4 collected $299,700; District 6 incumbent Tony Cardenas widened his fundraising lead to $187,917; and Herb Wesson has brought in $236,367 in District 10.

In the race for the only open council seat, Mitchell Englander has raised $507,224 as he seeks to replace his boss, District 12 Councilman Greig Smith, who is retiring. Closest contenders Navraj Singh and Brad Smith have raised $57,400 and $39,397, respectively.

Independent spending by the teachers union and a committee allied with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa continues to be the story in school board elections with more than $300,000 in additional spending as of Friday, bringing the total so far to more than $2.7 million.

Incumbents continue to receive the lion’s share of the committee’s support.

District 1 incumbent Marguerite LaMotte has raised $63,145 and been aided by about $586,000 in outside help, primarily school employee unions. Her closest challenger, Eric Lee, has raised $30,227.

Incumbent Tamar Galatzan would appear to have a tough race in District 3 where she has raised $61,320 to $42,585 for challenger Louis Pugliese. But big-name donors to Villaraigosa’s Coalition for School Reform have spent about $423,000 on Galatzan’s behalf.

District 7 incumbent Richard Vladovic continues to pull in money although he is running virtually unopposed. Vladovic has raised $92,832 and benefited from about $533,000 in help from the coalition. His closest challenger has raised $7,668.

The big money is in the District 5 race where the incumbent isn’t running. Luis Sanchez, chief of staff to board President Monica Garcia, has raised $164,845 and received nearly $950,000 in outside help from the mayor’s committee and other groups. Closest challenger Bennett Kayser has raised $18,798 while the teachers union has kicked in $223,000 in help.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?