Holbrook, O’Day Lead Fundraising Race

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

October 10 -- Two candidates looking to erase a Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights (SMRR) one-vote majority on the City Council are raising and spending the most money in the November race for three open seats, amassing more than $50,000 each.

Bolstered by an additional $85,000 spent on their behalf by Santa Monicans for Sensible Priorities (SMSP), Mayor Bob Holbrook and Planning Commissioner Terry O'Day have far out-raised and outspent the three SMRR candidates, who traditionally rely on the powerful tenants group to deliver the vote.

Endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce, Holbrook, who is running for a fifth term, had raised $65,362 by September 30, according to campaign statements released October 5. O’Day, who also is backed by the chamber in his first bid for elected public office, raised $50,925.

Large chunks of both war chests were spent on literature and a tactic increasingly being used in political races – attaching permanent absentee voter application forms to campaign mailers, according to the candidates’ campaigns.

Holbrook and O'Day can also count on the deep pockets of SMSP -- a political action committee formed September 11 and comprised of “Hospitality Providers” and “E Thomas Management” -- which has nearly $270,000 left over after two sets of high-gloss mailers were sent out in support of the two chamber candidates this summer.

That’s nearly four times the $72,111 left in SMRR’s coffers, which counted on hundreds of contributions of less than $100 and more than 100 contributions of more than $100 since July 1, according to campaign reports.

Meanwhile SMRR candidates Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor, as well as newcomer Gleam Davis, have each raised only a few thousand dollars each, with personal loans making up the lions’ share of funding for McKeown and Davis.

A $10,000 loan was tacked on to the $1,819 that McKeown had raised between July1 and September 30, giving the two-term incumbent a total of $12,068, according to campaign finance statements. McKeown – who is expected to be the main target of SMSP -- has only spent $126 so far.

Davis loaned herself $15,930 and has raised $5,060 for a total of $20,990, according to her finance statements. Her ending balance was $5,920 after spending $22,626.

The education activist and Attorney for AT&T has an outstanding debt of $23,486 – a combination of her loan to herself and $7,556 in unpaid campaign bills.

O’Connor – a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board member – is the only SMRR candidate who has not taken out a loan, raising $1,819 and spending nearly $1,500 so far. She has $557 left, according to her statements.

While O’Connor, Davis and McKeown are being out-raised by dramatic sums at the individual level, each can count on the substantial financial and door-to-door campaigning power of SMRR.

The tenants group -- started out of a local garage nearly 30 years ago on a platform of renters’ rights and rent control -- has raised $103,107 to date, and spent nearly $73,562 on their slate, according campaign statements.

The group, however, still has $72,111 left in its war chest, thanks to fundraising efforts dating back to last year.

While the $103,107 raised this year falls some $10,000 short of the $113,000 raised two years ago at this time, SMRR officials are confident the group, which has controlled local government for most of the past quarter century, will continue to step up its fundraising efforts

“Always, every election, there is a wide disparity, because we raise money in small amounts, typically $35 increments,” said SMRR co-founder and board member Dennis Zane, a former mayor. Zane noted SMRR opponents spent some $1 million in the 2004 election.

Much of SMRR’s money has been spent on mailers and a door-to-door campaign that not only gets the word out about local candidates, but raises money by asking for a contribution at the door, Zane said.

“Most of the money goes to direct mail,” he said. ‘We also have a year round canvass, which raises money at the door, and they (the canvassers) get paid for it.”

While at voters’ doors, canvassers are passing out literature that supports the SMRR slate and “alerts people to the issues,” Zane said.

Meanwhile, Holbrook and O’Day have spent large sums on up-front costs, such as renting campaign offices and printing literature, according to Alex Pugh, O’Day’s campaign manager.

Holbrook and O’Day have already spent tens of thousands of dollars on pamphlets with perforated absentee ballot applications voters can use to cast ballots from home.

“It’s interesting because if you look at the 2004 presidential election, absentee ballots played a huge role in both campaigns,” Pugh said.

Although SMRR plans to use the strategy, the absentee ballot applications have not yet gone out, Zane said.

“There has been a greater emphasis in recent years,” he said. “Many believe that by making it easier for people to vote, it may help endear them to the candidate.”

Santa Monica law caps individual contributions at $250. With that limit, the contributions will likely continue to pour in from different quarters, as supporters put their money behind their candidates during the home stretch.

Former Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. contributed $125 to Holbrook’s campaign, which also received $250 contributions from numerous businesses, including attorneys, developers, hotel managers and car dealers.

O’Day’s supporters included numerous architects, realtors and artists, as well as Southern California Gas Company and a grant writer with the California Endowment.

Unions UFCW local 770 and 1442 contributed a total of $500 to McKeown, who championed a pioneering living wage initiative that failed at the polls four years ago. A stockbroker, playwright and several retired residents also supported his reelection bid.

Davis received support from a script supervisor at FOX, a UCLA doctor, retired residents and education activists, among her contributors.

O’Connor received contributions from Bubba Gump Shrimp company, land-use consultant Howard Robinson and a RAND administrator.

Of the other candidates vying for three open council seats November 7, event planner Jenna Linnekens has raised $4,325 and spent $4,290. Her ending campaign totals are $1,391.

Among her contributors are former council candidate Kathryn Morea and former chamber president Dr. Michael Gruning.

Flight attendant, Johnathan Mann, entertainment consultant Terence Later, real estate agent Mark C. McLellan and data entry operator Linda Armstrong did not file statements.