Once scorned, Kevin de León has become a campaign fundraising juggernaut
Two years after withstanding withering pressure to resign amid the racist City Hall recording, Councilmember Kevin de León is proving to be a campaign fundraising powerhouse, pulling in more money than any other council candidate on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Through Oct. 19, de León had raised $416,459, according to financial documents filed with the City Ethics Commission, putting him about $80,000 ahead of his District 14 challenger, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado. The second-highest amount secured is the $393,687 by Adrin Nazarian, a former state legislator running for the open District 2 seat in the San Fernando Valley.
But that’s not the only financial advantage for de León, whose territory includes Boyle Heights, Downtown, Eagle Rock and other Eastside neighborhoods. His name ID is spreading through nearly $600,000 being spent to champion a trio of state ballot measures, part of the millions that he raised and set aside long ago for a potential run for lieutenant governor. The money has been transferred and is being utilized as a sort of break-glass-in-case-of-emergency political move.
Conversation fallout
De León’s financial situation is remarkable given that he became a political pariah after he and three other prominent leaders were heard in a secretly recorded conversation; they had gathered to discuss the redistricting process, but veered into hateful and offensive language.
Within days of the tape’s release in October 2022 (it was actually recorded a year earlier), City Council President Nury Martinez resigned, as did union leader Ron Herrera. Councilmember Gil Cedillo, the other person on the recording, had already lost an election and would soon be out of office. De León faced persistent protests and calls to step down, with many observers declaring that his political career was dead.
Instead, he waited out the protests and went on an apology tour, and though his backing had shriveled, he ran for a second term, relying on previous supporters and digging for votes in areas such as Boyle Heights and El Sereno. He ended up slightly behind Jurado in an eight-person March primary. (When no one earns more than 50%, the top two finishers advance to a runoff.)
That set up the current divisive battle. Jurado, a progressive affiliated with left-leaning Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, has endorsements from the L.A. County Democratic Party, the Los Angeles Times and the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, among others.
Although de León has more money, Jurado has recorded more individual donations. According to financial statements, she has received 1,384 contributions (some are people who gave small amounts multiple times).
As is often the case with incumbents, de León has more large donations. Of the 658 contributions, 375 are for $900, the maximum individual amount allowed. His top donors include Cedillo, State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and Norm Langer, owner of Langer’s Deli in MacArthur Park, which has been in the news due to concerns about homelessness, drug addiction and crime in the area.
Jurado has 92 max contributions. Her top contributors include Soto-Martinez, prominent progressive donor Patty Quillin, and Hannah Einbinder, who stars in the HBO show “Hacks.”
Candidates also build their war chests with matching funds, which is “free” money from the city given to those running for office who secure a set number of small, local contributions. Jurado has received $217,000, the maximum amount, while de León so far has about $188,000.
Outside influence
The District 14 race is also being impacted by “independent expenditures.” Individuals, groups and organizations can exceed the $900 donation limit, and spend as much as they want on things such as door-knocking efforts, billboards or web ads, but may not coordinate with a candidate’s campaign.
As of Wednesday morning, de León has benefitted from $742,000 in IEs, with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents most LAPD officers, and the union Laborers Local 300 among his biggest backers. The LAPPL spent another $263,000 opposing Jurado, including airing a commercial after she was heard saying “F*** the police” at an event at a local college.
More than $249,000 has been spent on Jurado’s behalf, including from progressive group L.A. Forward. Another $35,000 has been spent on IEs opposing de León.
Then there is de León’s other financial pool: Earlier this year the former president of the California Senate formed a committee, known as De León Believing in a Better California, to support a trio of measures on the state ballot: Measure 3, regarding same-sex marriage; Measure 32, to raise the state minimum wage; and Measure 33, for rent control.
De León funded the effort by transferring money from a committee he formed for a 2026 run for lieutenant governor. Secretary of State records show the new committee has received $750,000 this year, and had spent $595,000 through Oct. 19. The original lieutenant governor committee account still has nearly $2.3 million.
By law the spending cannot promote his council campaign, though ads or promotional material can include his name and image. The L.A. Times reported on door hangers, pushing Measure 32, that show a smiling de León.
Although some have classified the spending as a distasteful “shell game,” it is legal, and politicians including Gov. Gavin Newsom and former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa have used ballot committees to bolster their profile.
How we did it: We examined publicly available campaign finance data from the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission in the period up to Oct. 19, 2024. Some of the data on an Ethics Commission dashboard may be updated and not fully reflected in this article. More information about our data is here.
Have any questions? Write to us at askus@xtown.la.
