Time is money, and political candidates want to maximize both. In the limited window they have to make an impression on voters, between their announcement of their intention to run for office and the day the last ballot is counted, they have to squeeze in as much name recognition, platform pushing, and issue raising as they can. They schedule speeches and debates, run commercials, stake lawn signs, plaster bumper stickers on cars, clasp hands at meet-and-greets, and mail out reminders to vote (preferably for you-know-who).
None of that comes free.
That’s where you come in, literally. Campaign donors ensure that campaigns can actually run. Individuals and large corporations alike channel funds toward the politicians they want to see running the city or state or country, hoping their hard-earned cash will translate into a more effective campaign, which will translate into an elected official who can get things done.
Of course, there are also donors who hope politicians have long memories and a willingness to thank those who supported them with their wallets by leaning favorably in their direction.
Whatever the reason, locals forked over parts of their paychecks to a variety of candidates. With the election just weeks away, the Santa Maria Sun staff decided to shake the piggy banks to find out how much dough the candidates are really rolling in, where it came from, and how they spent it.
California 23rd Congressional District
The race between Democrat Lois Capps and her Republican challenger Tom Watson showed a great divide in campaign war chests, typical of elections involving an incumbent.
According to the Federal Election Commission, as of Sept. 30 Capps had raised a total of $855,883 through her committee “Friends of Lois Capps.” She’d spent $646,368 on her campaign as of that date, and reported $566,042 in cash on hand.
Of the money brought in, more than half—$470,708—came from individuals, while Political Action Committees (PACs) were responsible for $372,855.
Health professionals represented Capps’ top contributor by industry—donating $102,100 to her coffers—and $94,500 came from PACs representing the health-care industry. Capps credited her “unabashed” backing of health-care reform for the support.
“I’ve always reached out to that group because I’m so interested in health care with my background as a nurse, and I work on health care issues,” Capps said. “I have a wide base of support. I know it seems clustered with the support that comes from outside the district, and I haven’t looked lately to see what the percentage of in-district support is, but it’s pretty high, and that’s across the board.”
According to the FEC, Capps’ biggest contributors to date are the American Association for Justice, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and the American Nurses’ Association, who each contributed $10,000 to the campaign. Sonos, Inc., a wireless controller manufacturer based in Santa Barbara, donated $9,600 to Capps’ cause, followed by the International Association of Firefighters at $7,500.
Though Capps said she approaches each race like it’s her first, she acknowledged the money she raised in-district was made possible by being able to work closely with constituents in the community during her time in office.
“That’s bound to make an impression on them,” Capps said. “If they feel like they’re getting their needs met, whether it’s someone who has trouble getting their Social Security check or someone not getting a medal they won in a war, we pay a great deal of attention to constituents’ needs.
“It’s like applying for a job,” she added. “It’s part of my résumé now.”
Capps’ Republican opponent Watson, running in his first election, had raised a total of $403,760 as of Sept. 30, spending $325,034. An overwhelming majority of his funds, 98 percent, came from individuals; only $3,700 came from PACs.
Watson, who spoke of the “huge disadvantage” he has in raising money as a political newcomer, said the bulk of his funds have been spent on various forms of advertising—from signs and bumper stickers to television and radio spots.
“You do a lot of different things,” he said. “You can’t afford not to. At least me, being a challenger, I’ve got to get my name and my message out there any possible way that I can.”
Of Watson’s funds, $74,200 came from individuals listed as “retired,” topping all contributors when sorted by industry. Watson said the numbers shouldn’t be construed as indicative of his voter base, adding that most of his money was raised in the district.
“Santa Barbara is a fairly affluent community, and there are a lot of fairly wealthy people that have retired here,” he said. “I’m getting a lot of support from them.”
According to the most recent data available, Watson’s five biggest contributors are investment firms Capital Group Companies at $9,200, and Essex Capital Corp. at $4,800. Lompoc recycler Rbm Inc. donated $4,800; followed by Santa Barbara Radiology at $4,100, and Los Olivos-based Consilience Wines at $3,400.
There were no financial reports available for Libertarian candidate Darrell Stafford.
California Assembly 33rd District
Katcho Achadjian and Hilda Zacarias, the candidates for the 33rd District Assembly seat, don’t see eye to eye on all the issues—she’s strongly opposed to offshore oil drilling, he hasn’t been shy about his support of oil companies. They also have different approaches to campaigning—he’s using radio ads and phone banks, she’s using more grassroots tactics. But they both agree on one thing: Campaign endorsements should be public record.
Since entering the Assembly race in 2009, both candidates have filed ample financial records.
According to information from the California Secretary of State website, Achadjian’s contributions from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2010, total $328,272. His expenditures for that same period come in at a little more than $307,006, and were mainly spent on radio commercials, campaigning materials, fundraising events, phone banks, and polling research.
Zacarias’s contributions for that same period come to roughly $112,463. Her expenditures were listed at $124,526 and were attributed to campaigning materials, accounting and consulting services, ballot fees, and fundraising events. But those numbers can be misleading, Zacarias said, because they don’t include an additional $55,000 her campaign raised last year.
“Hilda doesn’t believe in a deficit,” she told the Sun in a recent interview. “There will be no deficit for this campaign.”
Zacarias said her campaign contributions reflect her other core political beliefs as well. For example, her largest financial backers are educators, healthcare workers, and union members. (Her largest contribution—$7,800—comes from the California Teachers Association for Better Citizenship.)
But Zacarias said the bulk of her financing comes from district residents. She’s even created a “layaway plan” in which people can give $100 over 10 months.
“Many people have never given to a political campaign,” she said, adding that she was very honored to receive donations large and small from first-time political supporters.
Still, she said, “someone investing in my campaign is not guaranteed additional access or power. Not at all.”
She said she hopes voters will look at her campaign as an investment, and look at the people who have invested in the beliefs she brings to the table.
Likewise, Achadjian said his financial contributions “reflect [his] business background” and his support of agriculture, tourism, and small business while on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.
His top financial supporters —all at $7,800 each—are the California Department of Fire Firefighters Small Contribution Committee, the California Medical Association Small Contribution Committee, and the California Dental Political Action Committee. According to the Secretary of State website, he also made two personal loans totaling roughly $48,000.
“I have good relationships with small business and law enforcement and have taken it to the capital level with my negotiation capabilities,” he said.
Achadjian went on to say he chose to return a large contribution from British Petroleum because the company “refused to take responsibility for its mistakes.” He said there are oil companies with “better character” that he chose to accept donations from, namely Chevron and Exxon Mobil. Both contributions were within the limits of a company at no more than $3,900 per transaction.
Santa Maria City Council
Santa Maria’s City Council race hasn’t traditionally been one in which candidates raise significant amounts of contributions. For this race, only four candidates received reportable contributions.
Marty Mariscal raised $6,680 with $2,438.43 in expenditures, mostly for signs and graphics.
Alice Patino received $5,815 in contributions, with $1,026.71 in expenditures consisting of printing and accounting.
The two candidates who received the most in contributions are Terri Zuniga and Jack Boysen.
Zuniga received $7,951.20 in contributions, with $4,429.20 of that in the form of loans from Joan Marmolejo. Zuniga reported expenditures of $10,891.76 going to services from Achievement House Mailing Plus More and Freeman Public Affairs.
Boysen reported $25,562 in contributions and $23,143 in expenditures mostly to campaign materials, graphics and advertising, and services by Freeman Public Affairs. Boysen started with a cash balance of $5,001 from himself, then gave himself $5,000 in the reporting period.
The Santa Maria Police Officers’ Association reportedly didn’t make direct contributions to any campaigns, but the association’s PAC did report a receipt of $11,700 in the reporting period and $14,712.44 this calendar year to date. The PAC also reported a beginning balance of $43,657.18 and expenditures this period of $42,511.25, which were made to Freeman Public Affairs for design and printing of mailers to be split between Jack Boysen and the Committee to Elect Terri Zuniga for City Council 2010.
Fair Political Practices Commission spokesperson Tara Stock said there’s no state law that limits independent PAC expenditures unless there’s a local ordinance that has stricter limits. The Santa Maria City Clerk’s Office confirmed they have no limit on independent PAC expenditures.
This story was compiled by Santa Maria Sun staffers. Send questions or comments to the executive editor at rmiller@santamariaasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 21-28, 2010.