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Shriver raises $1 million, Kuehl only half that in supervisors race

Supervisor candidates Bobby Shriver, left, and Sheila Kuehl are running for the seat being vacated by Zev Yaroslavsky. Shriver is a former mayor of Santa Monica. Kuehl served in the Legislature.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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Former Santa Monica Mayor Bobby Shriver has raised nearly twice as much money -- a little more than $1 million -- than former state lawmaker Sheila Kuehl in the Nov. 4 election campaign to replace retiring Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

About 4,000 contributors gave a maximum of $1,500 to Shriver’s campaign between July 1 and Sept. 30, for a total of $1,031,005, according to reports covering the latest campaign-financing period.

UPDATE: Shriver raises $1 million for supervisor race, Kuehl about $540,000

As in the past, the John F. Kennedy cousin’s list of contributors included red-carpet celebrities, titans of entertainment and business, high-profile politicians, activists and a circle of Kennedy and Shriver relatives.

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His list includes actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, music producer Lou Adler, billionaire philanthropists and businessmen George Soros and Eli Broad, economist Paul Volcker and Rep. Tony Cardenas, a Los Angeles Democrat.

Kuehl has not yet released her financial statement, which is due at the close of business Monday. But she said she expects to show about $540,000 in contributions for the period.

Shriver consultant Bill Carrick attributed Shriver’s strong financial showing to a rising “momentum” in the campaign as the race heads into its final weeks.

“Bobby’s moving around the county very energetically,” Carrick said, referring to the candidate’s frequent stops in the 3rd District, which includes the Westside and the San Fernando Valley.

“It’s always a scramble to raise money and this period covered two months of the summer doldrums,” Carrick said. “We did very well.”

Shriver reported that he has more than $800,000 in cash. Kuehl, who placed first among a crowded field in the June primary, said Monday that she isn’t worried about her rival’s financial advantage.

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Shriver came in second in the primary, seven points behind her, despite spending almost three times as much, she noted.

“It’s not how much you have,’’ she said. “It’s how well you spend it.”

Under county law, the candidates cannot raise more than $1,500 per contributor, or spend more than $1.4 million on the general election campaign. But two so-called independent expenditure committees are free from those limits and are raising money in larger chunks.

A labor-backed group, Local Experience We Trust, has raised more than $900,000 to support Kuehl’s run. It is funded by public employee unions who represent about half of the 100,000 workers in county government.

The Committee to Elect Bobby Shriver Supervisor meanwhile, has raised at least $581,000, campaign finance records show. It is financed by business interests and at least two private-sector trade unions.

The groups are using the money to buy print, cable and TV advertising to support their candidate, records show.

Follow me on Twitter at @csaillant2

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