Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will return to showbiz fundraising circles on June 3, as she headlines an event hosted by a group that includes a number of powerful Hollywood lawyers and Peter Chernin and his wife, Megan.
The event will be held at Sam and Leah Fischer’s Hancock Park home, with tickets starting at $1,000 per person. Those who raise $10,000 per person will co-host.
Sam Fischer is a partner at the entertainment firm Ziffren Brittenham. He’s joined as co-hosts by other attorneys in the firm, including Skip Brittenham and his wife Heather Thomas, the actress and political activist; and Matt Johnson and his wife Yasmine, a documentary filmmaker and activist. Also on the list of co-hosts is Rick Rosen, partner and head of the TV department at WME.
Peter Chernin is the CEO of the Chernin Group, and Megan Chernin co-chairs the LA Promise Fund board of directors.
Although a lot of recent attention in Hollywood has been on Vice President Joe Biden’s entry into the race and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s plans for a Los Angeles fundraising blitz, Harris has been perhaps the most prolific of all candidates in raising money from entertainment. She’s drawn on longtime connections that date back to her race for San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and the U.S. Senate.
Related
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Harris raised almost $290,000 from entertainment sources in the first quarter of 2019, well ahead of her Democratic rivals. She was the first candidate to hold a major fundraising event, when Universal’s Jeff Shell and his wife Laura hosted a fundraiser at their home in February.
Biden will be in Los Angeles next week for a series of fundraisers on May 8, including an event at the home of James Costos and Michael Smith. A number of major entertainment industry figures who raised money for Barack Obama will co-host the Biden event, including the Chernins and Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg.
The next day, Buttigieg is holding four fundraisers in the area, including an event at the home of Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk that will be co-hosted by Bradley Whitford and actress Amy Landecker. Buttigieg also is planning another fundraising swing through Los Angeles on June 18 and 19, including an event at the home of Ryan Murphy and David Miller.
Industry donors also are being tapped by Democrats in their efforts to retain control of the House. On May 30, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn and his wife Cindy are hosting an event at their home for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to a source. The news of the event was first reported by CNBC. Haim and Cheryl Saban and the Katzenbergs are among the co-hosts.