Urban interests and campaign contributions: Evidence from Los Angeles

Political activity is a key determinant of group influence in urban politics. This article examines a form of political activity often ignored by urban scholars, namely, campaign contributions. Using data from the 2001 Los Angeles municipal elections, I explore contributions from various urban interests. Because of its ability to overcome collective action problems, I expect business to be the main contributors, and among corporate interests, I expect development concerns to predominate. Although business contributes the vast majority of funds, contrary to expectations, land use interests are not the most active contributors, a spot reserved for professional concerns. As a whole, non-corporate interests, often allied against the business community, are as active or more active than many corporate contributors. And, in general, patterns of contributions reflect individual, rather than organizational, activity.