Metropolitan News-Enterprise

 

Tuesday, February 5, 2002

 

Page 1

 

Candidates to Succeed Finkel Raise More Than $100,000—Records

Campaign Finance Reports Show Judge Simpson With Huge Money Advantage Over Challenger

 

By KENNETH OFGANG

 

Candidates for the Los Angeles Superior Court seat being vacated by Judge David Finkel have raised more than $100,000 for their campaigns, records show.

Four candidates—Deputy District Attorney David Gelfound, Pasadena attorney David Crawford, State Bar Court Judge Paul Bacigalupo, and Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Steven K. Lubell—are seeking the seat.

Finkel did not file for reelection and is scheduled to retire tomorrow.

That race, designated on the ballot as Office No. 67, shows the highest fundraising total. But the highest individual fundraiser was Judge C. Robert Simpson Jr., who reported raising $86,000 in his bid for reelection to Office No. 90.

In the contest for Finkel’s seat, Gelfound reported raising nearly $52,000 for the period ending Jan. 19. Half of that was a personal loan from the candidate and another $25,000 was loaned by the family trust of his campaign treasurer, Robert B. Lefton of Thousand Oaks.

Less than $1,000 came from other sources, none of whom gave more than $200.

Gelfound’s reported expenditures were less than $4,000. The bulk of that, $3,000, went to pay legal fees for a suit—nominally brought by a supporter—challenging Bacigalupo’s right to use the ballot designation “Judge, State Bar.”

The action was rejected by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe.

Sources said Gelfound had committed the bulk of his finances to the purchase of slate mailers, subsequent to the close of the last reporting period. The next report covers the period through Feb. 16 and is due Feb. 21.

Bacigalupo reported raising more than $38,000. That total does not include a $10,000 “in-kind” loan from public relations consultant Leilani Sinclair, which was repaid, plus $10,000 from Bacigalupo’s personal funds, which went toward purchasing his $27,850 candidate statement.

The spending of personal funds for a candidate statement or a filing fee need not be reported as an expenditure under state election laws, Bacigalupo’s campaign treasurer and attorney Cary Davidson explained.

His largest contributors were his mother, Maria Bacigalupo of San Francisco, who gave $10,000, and the Century City law firm of Castle & Lax, where he used to practice and which gave $2,500.

Consulting Firm

The Glendale consulting firm of Garcia, McCoy & Lee, where his wife Lucy McCoy is a partner, gave $1,000. Partners Dan Garcia, who served as president of the Airport Commission under former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, and Mee Lee gave $500 each.

Bacigalupo is the only candidate in the race, and one of only two in the county, to spend the money to have a candidate statement mailed with the official ballots. His only other large expenditure was $5,000 to the law firm of Reed and Davidson, which successfully represented him against the ballot designation challenge.

The other candidates are way behind in the financial aspects of the race, their reports show.

Lubell reported contributions of less than $5,000 and expenditures of less than $300. His largest contributor, Los Angeles attorney Armen Tashjian, gave $1,000.

Two of his fellow judicial officers contributed. Judge William Stewart gave $250 and Commissioner Robert Applegate $150.

Own Money

Crawford reported raising $12,300, $10,000 of it his own, and spending $11,500. The bulk of his spending, $10,000, went to “Save Prop. 13,” a slate mailer associated with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association.

Simpson’s report showed that he had loaned or donated nearly $60,000 and received a large number of contributions from other judicial officers. That gives him a huge financial advantage over challenger Kenneth E. Wright, an insurance defense lawyer from Glendale who reported raising less than $3,000.

Judges Joseph DiLoreto, Theodore Piatt, Ronald Sohigian, John Torribio, and retired Judge Richard Charvat gave Simpson $500 each.

Judges William Birney, Chris Conway, Michael Cowell, Peter Espinoza, Dewey Falcone, Charles Frisco, Phillip Gutierrez, Philip Hickok, Robert Higa, Larry Knupp, Thomas McKnew, Patrick Meyers, Daniel Pratt, James Sutton Jr., and Lyle McKenzie and Commissioners Edward Drayer and Michael Schuur gave $300 each.

Judges Deborah Andrews, Brad Andrews, Robert Dukes, Gary Ferrari, Margaret Hay, Gibson Lee, William Stewart, and David Perkins and Commissioners Burt Barnett, Gerald Mansfield, and retired Judge Robert Wenke gave $250 each.

Judges Brian Gasdia, Jesus Rodriguez, Raul Sahagun, Marcus Tucker, and retired Judges Robert Einstein and Loren Miller contributed $200 each. Judges Gregory O’Brien Jr. Yvonne Sanchez, and Judith Vander Lans gave $150 each.

Judges James Brandlin, Victor Chavez, Ronald Coen, Michael Duggan, James Dunn,  Dale Fischer, Francis Gately Jr., Warren Greene, John Gunn, William Highberger, Bob Hight, Michael Hoff, Barbara Johnson, Sandy Kriegler, Richard Lyman Jr., William MacLaughlin, Bruce Marrs, Tracy Moreno, Cary Nishimoto, Charles Peven, James Pierce, Jan Pluim, Gerald Rosenberg, William Ryan, John Sandoz, Barbara Scheper, Norman Shapiro, Charles Sheldon, C. Edward Simpson Jr., William Sterling, Steven Van Sicklen, James Bascue, Judith Chirlin, John Doyle, Martin Herscovitz, Rolf Treu, L. Jeffrey Wiatt, and David Yaffe, retired Judges Robert Parkin, John Stanton Jr., and David Perez, and Commissioners John Chemelski  and Jeffrey Castner gave $100 each.

Simpson’s largest contributors were the Los Angeles law firm of Davis & Heubeck, Santa Ana lawyer Mark Edwards of Edwards & Hayden, attorney Robert Naeve of Morrison & Foerster, and Long Beach attorney Vern Schooley of Fulwider & Patton, who gave $1,000 each.

Simpson reported spending nearly $17,000, the bulk of it going to his campaign consultant, Cerrell Associates Inc.

Wright’s largest contributor was Linda Diamond Raznick of The Rutter Group, a legal publisher and continuing education provider, who gave $300. The executive director of The Rutter Group, Kalman Zempleny II, is Wright’s campaign treasurer.

Wright’s report showed a contribution of $100 from retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Weil and his wife, Dorothy. The jurist, who has had a long association with The Rutter Group, told the MetNews his wife wrote the check and that he does not know Wright and is not endorsing either candidate in the race.

 

Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company