Midterm election contributions the largest seen in years

The six candidates running for seats representing Westwood have raised more than $15 million combined for the midterm election, the most expensive the community has seen in years.

Before this year, the seats in Congress, the California Senate and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors had not been seen as competitive because incumbents had represented the district for years.

The retirement of incumbents have changed the races, however. Henry Waxman is retiring after serving the district that includes Westwood in Congress for 40 years. At the same time, Zev Yaroslavsky’s term limit is up after 20 years on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Additionally, there is an open seat in the California Senate because incumbent State Senator Ted Lieu is running for Waxman’s Congressional seat.

With the open seats and recent rulings on campaign finances, candidates have spent millions more than typically spent in an election.

In line with the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling in 2010, individuals and organizations can donate an unlimited amount of money to a super political action committee, also known as a Super PAC. Though the committee may not coordinate with candidates, it can spend money advocating for or against them.

Super PACs have also shown up in this year’s election in districts that include Westwood. According to the Center for Responsive Politics that tracks campaign spending, the American Alliance and the Bold Agenda PAC combined spent about $550,000 advocating for Elan Carr and $100,000 advocating against Lieu. Carr, a Republican, and Lieu, a Democrat, are running to replace Waxman in California’s 33rd Congressional District.

Carr’s campaign spent the money on voting mailers and television commercials, according to the center.

Lieu has received a significantly smaller amount of donations from super PACs, with about $20,000 supporting him from the committees, according to the record.

However, he has raised about $2 million from contributors such as former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan and several unions, pulling ahead of Carr by about $600,000.

Lieu drafted a bill as a state senator calling for an advisory vote in the 2014 ballot on the Citizens United case. He criticized Super PACs, saying he thinks they reduce people’s voice in politics.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow corporations and billionaires to influence our elections undermines the peoples’ participation in their own elections,” he said in a statement in July, after the bill passed the legislature.

John Van Winkle, a campaign manager for Carr, said the majority of donations to Carr have come from individuals and from those in the district. He said the campaign can’t dictate how or where super PACs contribute money.

“There’s nothing we can do to control what others spend,” he said.

Because two Democrats are running for the State Senate and the Board of Supervisors race is nonpartisan, spending for both races is not as heavily divided along party lines.

However, Bill Bloomfield’s nearly $1.3 million donation to support Ben Allen, running to represent Westwood’s district in the California Senate, has raised some criticism from Sandra Fluke, his opponent.

Bloomfield, a Republican-turned-independent, ran unsuccessfully against Waxman in 2012 after spending about $8 million on his campaign.

“There’s a desperate need to address the (campaign finance) problem,” Fluke told the Bruin Monday, referencing Bloomfield’s donation.

Bloomfield, on his website, said he is trying to prevent special interests from heavily influencing candidates. He has praised Allen, calling Allen passionate and ethical.

“Until our campaign finance system is overhauled, we are trying to level the playing field for smart, ethical, good government-type candidates,” he said.

Allen’s campaign has said it does not communicate with Bloomfield about how he spends his money.

Fluke has received more than a $1 million, including about $40,000 from Planned Parenthood’s L.A. chapter and from about 5,000 individual contributors. Not counting Bloomfield’s donation, Fluke’s campaign has raised more money than Allen’s.

In the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors race, both Bobby Shriver and Sheila Kuehl raised more than $4 million each. Kuehl, a former state senator, has received more than $2 million from unions, while Shriver, a former mayor of Santa Monica, has received donations from business owners. He has also put about $1 million of his own money toward the race.

The midterm election will be held Tuesday.