Former Deckers CEO Angel Martinez raised $107,775 during the first six months of the year in his bid to become Santa Barbara’s next mayor, but nearly half of that money came from his own bank account.
Martinez has given himself $50,000, a $25,000 check on June 21, and another one on June 28.
He had a total of 23 separate donors, including a $10,000 check from Lynda.com founder Lynda Weinman.
Martinez hasn’t spent much yet — he has about $107,715 in the bank.
By contrast, mayoral candidate Cathy Murillo raised the second-most amount of money from Jan. 1. to June 30 — $90,891.
But unlike Martinez, she didn’t give herself any money. Murillo also demonstrated a wider range of community support, collecting contributions from about 290 different individuals and organizations.
Murillo’s largest checks were for $5,000, from United Food and Commercial Workers, and another $5,000 from the District Council of Iron Workers PAC. She received about $25,000 total from unions and political action committees.
Murillo has $99,831 in the bank to spend and she has raised more than $120,000 total so far; She raised an additional $21,841 in 2016 for her mayoral campaign.
The mayoral election is Nov. 7. The race is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing and expensive mayoral elections in Santa Barbara history.
Campaign contributions are important in local elections for multiple reasons: The amount of money that candidates raise is often in sync with their community support. Much of the money will also be spent on television commercials, media buys and promotional material and help brand the candidates.
Candidates also look to send a message with their first wave of donations; the more money a candidate raises, the more formidable he or she looks, and it increases the likelihood of securing even more contributions.
City Councilman Frank Hotchkiss raised $41,949 and has an ending cash balance of $39,773.
His largest donations were two $5,000 checks — from Santa Barbara resident Barbara Sanborn and another from Jon Coffin, president of Responsible BioSolids Management.
Hotchkiss, the mayoral contest’s only Republican candidate, has about 70 individual donors.
Former Santa Barbara Mayor Hal Conkin reported $28,350 in donations, including a $20,000 loan to himself. He has a cash balance of $28,330.
His largest donations were two checks for $2,500, from Bruce Corwin, president of the Metropolitan Theatres Corporation, and from the Metropolitan Theatres Good Government Committee. Conklin received donations from 13 different groups.
The final mayoral candidate, Harwood “Bendy” White, reported zero contributions, only $7,238 that he rolled over from his City Council campaign account.
Other sizable donations in the race were:
» $10,000 from John Macfarlane to Martinez.
» Michael and Natali Smith Family Trust, SOMO SB, attorney Brian Goebel and Cresa Partners each gave Martinez $5,000.
» The Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians each gave Murillo and Hotchkiss $1,000.
In the Santa Barbara City Council District Elections:
» Gregg Hart raised a whopping $101,608 in his bid for seat in District 6.
» Planning Commissioner Jay Higgins raised $20,499 for a spot in District 4.
» James Scafide raised $25,425 for the District 4 spot.
» Retired Fire Chief Warner McGrew raised $12,200 for the District 5 seat.
» Jack Ucciferri, a candidate for District 6, and Kristen Sneddon, a candidate for District 4, did not electronically file contribution forms.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
