Editorial: When big money enters the L.A. mayor's race (via latimesopinion)
. Caruso and businessman Ramit Varma have not. The supermatch is supposed to enable candidates to spend less time wooing wealthy donors or special interests willing to write big checks; the endless fundraising and need to cultivate the rich and powerful turned off a lot of would-be candidates and voters. With more public financing, candidates, in theory, can instead focus on community-level outreach and cultivating small donors, and still raise enough money to run a serious campaign.
But Caruso’s $10-million loan to his campaign has already vastly outpaced the roughly $1 million that public financing candidates could receive from the city before June 7. His spending prompted the Ethics Commission to lift the $3.3-million expenditure limit for public financing candidates during the primary election. That means Rep. Karen Bass, City Atty.
Caruso’s campaign staff have said the billionaire’s decision to spend his own money on the campaign is a good thing for Angelenos because it means he’s not raising money from special interests. Caruso’s campaign finance forms have classified his contributions as loans, which means he could eventually raise money from special interests to help cover the costs. His campaign did not answer questions about whether Caruso will fundraise to repay his loans.
. When he entered the race in February, about 8% of likely voters said they would pick him, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. When the poll was taken again in late March/early April, Caruso had backing from 24% of likely voters, with Bass at 23%. Some 40% of voters remain undecided.
That’s a snapshot in time, and to many Angelenos, the mayoral election has barely begun. Blasting ads across TVs and computer screens is a good way to get voters to start paying attention — if it doesn’t eventually grate on their nerves. But if history is any guide, money isn’t the sole determinant in winning elections in Los Angeles and California.