Mayoral Runoff Vote Attracts Big-Name Hollywood Donors
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Voters have less than two weeks to decide who to elect as the next mayor of Los Angeles, but some of Hollywood's heavyweights have already voted with their pocketbooks.
An analysis by the Los Angeles Times found entertainment industry donors have contributed over $1.1 million to Eric Garcetti's campaign, while Wendy Greuel has raised nearly $1 million.
With a total of well over $2 million in campaign funds, Hollywood was the second-biggest overall contributor to the mayoral race after unions, which contributed nearly $4.2 million overall.
Variety's Ted Johnson told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO the candidates' personal ties to the entertainment industry has overshadowed the relative lack of interest on the part of the voters.
Variety's Ted Johnson
"Wendy Greuel was a former executive at DreamWorks, Eric Garcetti represents a district that includes Hollywood, where a lot of the creative types, so to speak, live and in some cases, work," Johnson said.
Greuel's previous career as a government relations executive has helped her secure contributions and endorsements from DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, while Hollywood moguls Michael Ovitz, Michael Eisner, and Steve Tisch are among some of the most notable Garcetti supporters.
And while neither candidate has become the clear runaway favorite for the entertainment vote, Johnson said industry donors have little to lose regardless of who ultimately wins the race.
"It seems that it's softer support, it's not at the level that we've seen in a presidential race, for example, when Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton went up against each other, there was a lot of emotion behind it," said Johnson. "I'm just not seeing that."
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