In the final days of the hotly contested race for the 7th City Council District seat, Corinne Sanchez has taken a slight lead in fund-raising over Alex Padilla, with the two of them far outdistancing other candidates, according to reports filed Thursday with the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
Sanchez, who runs a social service agency, reported that her campaign had received $200,300 in contributions and city matching funds through March 27--a record for a primary election in the northeast San Fernando Valley district. She had $67,000 in the bank at the end of the filing period.
She received fund-raising help from county Supervisor Gloria Molina and former 7th District Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose election to the state Senate created the vacancy to be filled in the April 13 election.
Padilla, a legislative aide, received fundraising assistance from Mayor Richard Riordan, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and union leaders, which helped him bring in $186,525 in contributions and city matching funds by last Saturday, with $33,00 unspent.
A Padilla campaign official said that he has raised enough to put him over the $200,000 mark in the last six days.
Most observers predict that neither front-runner will win a majority April 13, and that Sanchez and Padilla will face off a final time in the election June 8.
Along with the race in the 14th Council District, where Richard Alatorre is not seeking election, the 7th District contest is seen by many as a watershed event in local Latino politics, providing the opportunity for the next wave of leaders to take office.
Rivals have stated that Padilla has drawn substantial support from downtown interests, including the mayor and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Padilla has reported that many of his contributions are coming from unions, as well as allies and appointees of the mayor. Sanchez has reported support from a mix of physicians, lawyers and developers.
In comparison to Sanchez and Padilla, former San Fernando Mayor Raul Godinez II raised $52,000 for his campaign, including a $15,000 bank loan. Youth services director Tony Lopez has collected $50,000 and housing agency manager Ollie McCaulley has raised $14,000.
Alarcon, who raised $192,000--at that time a record--for the primary election he won in 1997, said he is not surprised by the large amounts being raised this year.
