But it may not measure up to slate-backed candidates
Councilman Robert Holbrook leads all city council candidates in the amount of money contributed to his campaign and the amount of cash on hand.
Since July, Holbrook raised $31,905, while Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown came in second with $25,109 — $10,000 of which comes from a self-loan — and challenger Abby Arnold came in a close third with $22,548, according to campaign disclosures made this week.
During that same time, council candidates Matteo “Matt” Dinolfo raised $22,548, Josefina Aranda accumulated $4,907, Councilwoman Pam O’Connor raised $2,075 and Chuck Allord raised $2,050.
Council candidates Pro Se and Jerry Rubin failed to file campaign disclosure forms as of Thursday afternoon. The deadline to submit financial contributions was Monday.
Holbrook has $27,914 on hand, spending more than $8,000 on mass mailers, consultants and campaign supplies. McKeown has $23,117 in his war chest and Abby Arnold has $15,538 in hers.
But unlike McKeown, O’Connor and Arnold — who have been endorsed by the local political powerhouse Santa Monicans for Renters Rights — Holbrook lacks a slate endorsement, which can inject needed mass mailers, signs and precinct walkers into a candidate’s campaign.
SMRR has amassed $40,584 in contributions since July and more than $137,000 over the year. And the organization has more than $88,000 on hand to support its candidates. It’s unknown how much of that money will be used to support its six picks for city council and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board, but traditionally the political organization spends thousands helping endorsed candidates get their messages out.
And unlike previous years, Holbrook — who is running for his fourth term on the city council — was not endorsed by the Police Officers Association.
The police union, along with those unions representing the city’s firefighters and teachers, opted to endorse McKeown, Dinolfo and O’Connor.
The most recent campaign disclosure information from the POA, which is a registered state political action committee, was not available Thursday on the California Secretary of State’s Web site. However, as of July, the group had raised $85,154.
Holbrook acknowledges he cannot match the money raised by SMRR and the POA, which will be spent solely on their three endorsed candidates.
“I am concerned,” he said. “There is only so much you can do with so many dollars, and I can only do what I can with the money I have raised.”
“There is only so much you can do with so many dollars, and I can only do what I can with the money I have raised.” — — ROBERT HOLBROOK Santa Monica city councilman/candidate
In the race for three open seats on the school board, candidates also have been busy raising money for their campaigns.
School board member Brenda Gottfried led the pack with $10,000, which she loaned to herself for the campaign. Her husband, Hugh Gottfried, said his wife is telling campaign contributors to write their checks to the “Yes on Measure EE” campaign.
Measure EE would raise parcel taxes to more than $300 to give the school district badly needed funds to make up for a precipitous decline in state funding.
School board candidate Oscar de la Torre raised $6,936 over the past three months, and he has spent under $3,000, leaving him with $3,963 on hand.
Emily Bloomfield raised $5,595 since July for her school board campaign, bringing the total amount raised by her over the year to $11,240.
Over the past three months, school board president Julia Brownley raised more than $4,000 for her campaign, and she still has a little under $2,000 left.
Shane McLoud, who loaned himself $1,400, has raised $4,000 for his campaign and he has more than $3,000 remaining.
Bloomfield, Brownley and de la Torre have all been endorsed by SMRR.
The Committee for Excellence in Education, which is running the “Yes on Measure EE” campaign, has raised in excess of $63,000, and the group still has more than $27,474 on hand.
The campaign faces no organized opposition, but supporters fear the measure may not get the needed two-thirds margin of victory required to raise taxes because many residents are facing economic hardships.
Because of that, supporters say the school district will have to run a very aggressive campaign to convince voters to tax themselves.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.