Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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Most Donors to Lacey’s Campaign Not Lawyers, Reports Show
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacqueline Lacey has attracted fewer contributions from attorneys, law firms and judges than all but one of her potential rivals for next year’s contest to become the county’s top prosecutor, according to reports obtained yesterday from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder.
Lacey, who has been endorsed by District Attorney Steve Cooley, reported $99,359.80 in contributions during the first six months of this year from 203 donors, 67 of whom were listed on her filings as attorneys.
Among her backers were Alternate Public Defender Janice Fukai, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, and Cooley’s wife.
The candidate previously stated publicly that she will not accept donations from deputy district attorneys, and her latest filing indicates that she has kept this pledge.
Lacey also received support from retired Los Angeles Superior Court Peter Smith, and former Inglewood Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mason, who served as Cooley’s chief deputy after retiring from the bench.
She reported spending $13,350.35, and having $86,709 on hand, with no outstanding debts.
Deputy District Attorney Steve Ipsen, who raised the least amount of money during this past reporting period of all the candidates, also received the least support for his campaign, which is his second bid for district attorney.
His filings indicate he garnered $24,426.98 from 54 donors, which included 31 attorneys.
Although Ipsen is a part-president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, only two of his donors were identified as fellow prosecutors. No judges gave to Ipsen.
He said he spent $3,390.56 in the first half of this year, leaving him with $21,036 on hand. With a reported outstanding debt of $3,806.24, Ipsen lags far behind the other candidates in terms of funds.
Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich’s “exploratory” campaign is in the lead, as far as fundraising goes. He reported $493,959.97 in contributions from 655 donors, which included 110 members of the legal community, and $173.51 in outstanding debts.
Trutanich has yet to formally declare himself a candidate, however, and he recently drew fire for having personally delivered a check for $2,025,000—representing half of the settlement proceeds from a lawsuit against CBS Outdoor Inc. over its use of “supergraphics”—to the county and recommending the funds be used to pay for the testing of DNA samples from rape victims.
County officials rejected Trutanich’s suggestion, saying the money had to be for prosecuting consumer protection crimes, pursuant to the terms of Proposition 64, but his move raised eyebrows since the beneficiary of his proposal would have been his political ally, Sheriff Lee Baca, one of the sponsors of the “draft” movement for Trutanich to run for district attorney.
Among the declared candidates, Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo has raised the most money—a reported $254,111.90 in contributions from 530 donors, which includes 223 lawyers, judges and firms.
After spending $35,931.54 during the reporting period and making a $10,000 loan to himself, he has $233,084.67 on hand. Trujillo is also carrying the largest balance of unpaid bills, with a reported $14,904.31 left outstanding.
Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson spent the most during the reporting period—a total of $119,734, with $1,594.24 still owing. He collected $111,910 in contributions, which added to his beginning balance of $107,205.69, left him with $89,673 on hand.
Jackson received contributions from 210 donors, 73 of whom are members of the legal community.
Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers reported $68,904 in contributions, and expenses of $15,344.21, leaving her with $54,700.68 and no debts. A total of 113 of her 159 financial supporters were listed as bench officers, attorneys and law firms.
Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace listed 167 donors—68 of whom were identified as attorneys or law firms—who collectively gave a total $34,130.12, and a loan to himself of $1,500. His reported expenditures were $22,550.67, leaving him with $17,179.45 and outstanding debts of $2,000.
Copyright 2011, Metropolitan News Company