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# Campaign trail exacts a hefty toll
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/campaign-trail-exacts-a-hefty-toll/
- Published: 2004-09-01T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:59:45.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homelessness

*Despite spending cap, cost of campaign on rise*

While you ponder over the next two months on who you will vote for in the local City Council election, consider this: Each candidate will spend between $4 and $8 for your vote.

A successful — or at least competitive — bid for one of the four open City Council seats will require candidates to raise in excess of $100,000.

The amount of fundraising is dependent on whether the candidates run individually, or are propped up by Santa Monica’s longtime political ruling party — the Santa Monicans For Renters Rights — or its arch nemesis, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.

Both entities will raise money for a slate of candidates, send direct mailers to voters’ homes, and campaign tirelessly for their chosen ones.

SMRR typically spends close to $100,000 for its slate, which this year consists of incumbents Ken Genser and Richard Bloom, Pico neighborhood activist Maria Loya and former school board president Patricia Hoffman. SMRR will spend most of that money on direct mailers, which cost about $17,000 to print and deliver to an estimated 35,000 households.

The Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee, which will announce its slate the week of Sept. 13, is expected to raise even more than SMRR. Some estimates have been as high as $300,000\. However, Kathy Dodson, president and CEO of the chamber, said she doesn’t know how much money the committee will raise — this is the first year the chamber has officially raised money for candidates.

“It sounds like a cop-out, but we just don’t know,” she said. “We are going to raise as Herb Katz, who has run twice before as an independent, raised a little more than $100,000 for his last campaign — in 2000 — and $250,000 during his first bid in the mid ’80s. He was the highest vote-getter that year.

This year, the incumbent hopes to raise at least another $100,000\. Because Katz doesn’t have the SMRR endorsement and the army of volunteers that accompanies it, he feels he needs to raise more than his counterparts. But if he is backed by the chamber, which appears likely, he may not need to raise as much.

But with a tight race expected, candidates aren’t backing down from raising as much money as possible. Kennedy-family descendent Bobby Shriver, who is California First Lady Maria Shriver’s brother, will likely raise more than his competitors, based solely on his independent wealth and vast political support across the country.

Another wild card in the race is Councilman Mike Feinstein, who didn’t get the SMRR endorsement this year, despite that he was backed by the political group in 2000\. He has hired a political consultant and will likely spend more this year than he did four years ago because he doesn’t have the SMRR support.

Feinstein and Shriver also are seen as wild cards because they have name recognition: Shriver with his family connections and his positive Democratic linkages, and Feinstein, who has the same last name as Sen. Diane Feinstein, although the two aren’t related. Feinstein’s name also will be recognized locally because he’s an incumbent.

Genser, who is running for his fifth term, said endorsements from any group help the campaign. Backed by SMRR and a host of other political action committees in previous years, Genser individually raised between $23,000 and $30,000 in past elections.

He added that being an incumbent doesn’t matter, especially in a crowded field comprised of 15 candidates.

“A lot of people just don’t know who is on the City Council,” Genser said.

Denny Zane, co-founder of SMRR, a former City Councilman and mayor, as well as an observer of Santa Monica politics for more than two decades, said candidates favored by business interests historically have been able to raise more money individually.

That’s because wealthier people are willing to spend $250 on their candidate of choice. Campaign contribution amounts were unlimited until 1992, when it was capped at $250.

“No one person has a huge influence over a candidate and it lowers the cost of a campaign and makes it easier for the challengers to raise money,” Genser said.

As a result, the cost of running a campaign in Santa Monica has remained relatively the same for the past 25 years.

“If you aren’t supported by the chamber or SMRR, to be competitive and be successful, you need to raise at least $50,000,” Zane said, adding SMRR will spend between $80,000 and $100,000 on its slate.

Another slate has arrived on the political scene called “Team for Change,” which includes former newspaper columnist Bill Bauer, an independent; and registered Republicans David Cole, a Mid-cities neighborhood leader; and Kathryn Morea, a Pico neighborhood activist.

Peter Tigler, the team’s campaign manager, said he hopes to raise as much as possible, but points out that money isn’t everything in a campaign.

“There is precedence for this city to have a low-financed campaign and win,” Tigler said. “(SMRR) is spending a lot of money per vote. It’s a machine... Santa Monica voters should be aware that they are buying their vote.”

Bauer hopes to raise as much as his competitors, but it’s not unheard of for a candidate to raise as much as $200,000.

“You are never too rich to run a campaign,” he said. “I’m not sure we can get that kind of money, but if we did we’d put it to good use.”

Katz said he relies heavily on people who contribute $10 or $20, but admits he attracts some “heavy hitters” as well.

While campaign expenditures have remained the same over the past two decades, costs have gone up. Postage for direct mailers is more expensive and voter apathy has increased.

“Generally, the costs of a campaign has increased because voters are paying less attention,” said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies and a former Santa Monica resident. “But Santa Monica is totally unique because SMRR does most of the campaigning.”

Another cost for candidates is political consultants, which typically aren’t the norm in local races. But because the field is tight this year, some candidates have hired them, or at least are considering doing so.

“I think I’m going to do it this year,” said Genser, adding he’s never hired a political consultant. “I’d like to get better mail.”

Parke Skelton, a political consultant based in Pasadena and co-founder of SMRR, said it’s unusual for candidates in municipal elections to hire experts to run their campaigns. But it’s not a bad idea, he added.

“Municipal politics isn’t the big time,” he said. “But (political consultants) help target your mail, do polling, interpret that polling and craft your message.”

Most political observers agree direct mailers are the most effective way to reach voters. The Chamber of Commerce already has sent three to voters, challenging the status quo and the current administration on its policies of homelessness, traffic and other quality of life issues.

The strategy for most candidates will be to wait until October — that’s when voters can expect to have their mailboxes littered with election materials.

“Voters start paying attention closer to the election,” Zane said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 1, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090104.pdf?ref=smdp.com)