Council candidates report finances
by Rebecca S. Bender, 10/7/2006
Campaign disclosure statements filed Thursday by Arcata City Council candidates provided a snapshot of the financial field as of Sept. 30 — and it’s one in which only about half the players are participating.
Eight candidates are running for two open seats in November’s election.
The city of Arcata has a $160 campaign contribution limit in place.
But numerous small donations can still add up: former Arcata Councilmember and Mayor Alex Stillman far outstripped her opponents, reporting just over $10,000 in cash donations to her campaign.
Stillman itemized 34 separate donations of more than $100 but less than $160. Individual donors included Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools Garry Eagles, Assemblymember Patty Berg and Berg’s assistant Connie Stewart.
In addition, contributions of less than $100, which are not required to be listed individually, accounted for more than half the total funds raised for Stillman, bringing in $5,714.
After expenditures, Stillman reported almost $4,400 remaining.
In fiscally distant second place was incumbent Dave Meserve, who reported $3,530 in cash donations and $3,200 remaining.
Meserve’s donations came from the Green Party of California, former Green presidential candidate David Cobb, David Boyd of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Local Solutions co-founder Michael Twombly and Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and his wife.
On Meserve’s monetary heels was Michael Winkler, a member of Arcata’s Planning Commission and an engineer at the Humboldt State University Schatz Energy Research Center, who reported almost $3,390 in donations, with $1,015 remaining.
Individual donations to Winkler’s campaign came from Planning Commission Chairperson John Graves and his wife, former Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Worth Dikeman and Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee member and HSU professor Milton Boyd.
Winkler also reported a total of $2,648 donations from his personal account.
Incumbent Mark Wheetley came in fourth place in the financial race, with a reported $1,260 in cash donations. His documents report $1,540 remaining at the end of the period.
Wheetley’s donors included former Arcata City Manager Dan Hauser as well as Planning Commission Chairperson John Graves.
No monetary contributions were received by Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Jeff Schwartz during the period ending Oct. 5, though he reported giving his campaign a $1,500 loan from his own pocket. At the end of the period, $375 remained in his campaign coffers.
Finally, challengers Dana Quillman and Bobby Harris both reported that they had received no donations and made no expenditures, though Harris indicated an unitemized nonmonetary contribution worth less than $100.
Nick “Eeyore” Page had not filed his statements with the City Clerk’s Office by Friday.
The state Fair Political Practices Commission requires that candidates file regular financial disclosure statements with elections officials.
The next campaign statements are due Oct. 26.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter
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