Assembly Candidates Williams, Jordanthe Front-runners in Fundraising

Candidates for state and county offices file semi-annual campaign finance reports

Noozhawk (Santa Barbara)
Feb. 2, 2010
By Giana Magnoli

Assembly candidates Susan Jordan and Das Williams were the biggest fundraisers among local candidates last year, with more than $500,000 between them.

Candidates for state and county offices filed their semi-annual campaign finance reports by Monday. The forms list contributions and expenditures from 2009. Since the county filing period for candidacy starts in February, it is largely incumbents who have begun receiving contributions.

Williams, a member of the Santa Barbara City Council, raised $331,387, beating Jordan by more than $100,000.

His largest contributions reported this period came from unions and local politicians. The California State Council of Laborers political action committee gave him $7,800, and the local Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers PAC contributed $3,800.

Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider and Councilman Grant House each gave him about $3,800, as did council contender John Thyne.

Jordan, whose husband, Pedro Nava, holds the 35th District seat, raised $224,829 in 2009 and, like Williams, received most of it from many smaller contributions. She received her largest contribution from a union as well, with $7,800 from the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and $3,400 from Nava.

She had several contributors of $3,900, which is the campaign limit for individuals contributing to legislative candidates. According to the Fair Political Practices Commission, individuals can give $6,500 to statewide candidates and $25,900 to gubernatorial candidates.

Republican Mike Stoker raised $102,537 for his campaign last year and spent just $4,683. His largest contributions were $7,800 from the United Agricultural Political Action Committee and $7,800 from Alexi Realty, Inc. of Santa Maria. He also received $3,900 from state senators Tony Strickland and Jeff Denham as well as 33rd district assemblymember Sam Blakeslee.

Small contributor committees have higher limits, and political parties have no limits. There are also calendar-year limits on contributions to state officeholders.

Neither Jordan, Williams or Stoker accepted the voluntary expenditure ceilings of $518,000 for the primary and $906,000 for the general election.

Republican Daniel Goldberg agreed to the expenditure ceiling but has not filed campaign finance reporting forms with the county or Secretary of State’s office.