Two Candidates Spend $1 Million on Council Race

The two candidates for the 2nd District seat on the Los Angeles City Council together have spent about $1 million to compete for the $133,000-a-year job, campaign finance reports filed Thursday show.

The reports show Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Panorama City) and entertainment executive Wendy Greuel had just $66,000 in cash between them as of Dec. 31, two months before the runoff for the east San Fernando Valley seat.

Cardenas’ contributors include fellow Assemblymen John Dutra (D-Fremont) and Joe Canciamilla (D-Pittsburg). Both gave $500, the maximum allowed. State legislators and their aides were generous donors to Cardenas’ campaign.

Greuel’s runoff effort received $500 each from the Motion Picture Assn. of America, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., reports filed with the City Ethics Commission show.