By Jonathan Friedman
Associate Editor

October 24, 2014 -- Planning Commissioner Sue Himmelrich’s campaign chest for her quest to land a seat on the City Council topped $100,000 as of the latest disclosure statement submitted Thursday that covers through October 18. The $102,000 total makes Himmelrich $20,000 richer than second-place and fellow Planning Commissioner Richard McKinnon.

However, the vast majority of Himmelrich’s money -- $90,000 -- comes from her own wallet, and not supporters’ donations. She has self-contributed more money than any other candidate, but Himmelrich is far from the only person to take the personal route.

Nearly every council candidate that has raised any money in this 14-person campaign for three seats has self-contributed. The exceptions are the two incumbents -- Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor. McKeown had loaned his campaign $5,000 several months ago, but he erased the debt with money from supporters, according to the most recent statement.

Contributing to their own campaigns so far have been Mckinnon with $50,000 (including $23,000 in the recent period covering Oct. 1-18), former Mayor Mike Feinstein with $44,000, Recreation and Parks Commission Chair Phil Brock with nearly $12,000, former Planning Commissioner and The Lookout columnist Frank Gruber with $10,000, Nick Boles with $4,000, Planning Commissioner Jennifer Kennedy with $4,000, Whitney Scott Bain with $1,000 and Zoë Muntaner with $1,000.

Contributing to one’s own campaign is called a loan in the disclosure statements, but unlike in McKeown’s case, these loans are often not recovered, and the candidate ends up making a substantial financial contribution to his or her own campaign.

Candidates have spent $216,000 of their own money this year. This is just $10,000 less than how much money has been raised from supporters. Candidates can collect up to $325 per person from supporters by City law. There is no limit to how much money a person can contribute to his or her own campaign.

As for regular fundraising, the order is much different than the grand totals that include self-contributions. Gruber leads the pack with $48,000, including nearly $22,000 from Oct. 1-18. He is followed by O’Connor with nearly $44,000, including $10,000 in the most recent period.

Third on the list is McKeown, who has collected nearly $38,000, including $16,000 in the most recent period.

The remainder of the list features McKinnon with $32,000, Kennedy with nearly $18,000, Brock with $14,000, Himmelrich with nearly $13,000, Feinstein with nearly $13,000 and Boles with nearly $7,000.

Brock’s total might be higher, but since he submitted his disclosure statement on paper rather than online, it will not be added to the City Clerk’s website until Friday afternoon.

Terence Later, Muntaner and Bain did not raise any money, according to their statements. Jerry Rubin and Jon Man did not submit statements, but they traditionally have not raised any money in their many council campaigns.