Aug. 01--Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti raised $2.227 million during the first quarter of his 2017 re-election campaign, an amount that sets a record for incumbent mayors' early fundraising in the era of the city's modern campaign-finance regulations, his campaign consultant said Friday.
Garcetti's fruitful fundraising effort comes despite his lack of a serious challenger so far. It also brings him within sight of L.A.'s cap for expenditures from private donations, which is $2.239 million.
Candidates who exceed that limit forgo $667,000 in public matching funds, a step typically taken only in highly competitive races.
"This is the strongest first campaign report since the current system's been in place," said Bill Carrick, the political consultant at the helm of the mayor's campaign.
Carrick said he thought it unlikely that Garcetti would be forced to exceed the city's spending cap.
"It's not something that we can see right now," he said.
