Three seats are up for grabs in the Nov. 7 Santa Barbara City Council election and candidate fundraising has been heating up.
Friday was the deadline for candidates to submit their fundraising totals for the period of July 1 to Sept. 23, and the totals typically are a sign of a candidate’s viability in a race.
Although there are exceptions, candidates who raise the most community money typically win seats, since the funding allows candidates to promote themselves via advertising, phone banks, political consultants and other avenues.
November is the second district-based election for the Santa Barbara City Council, and the first for seats representing Districts 4, 5 and 6.
Below is a breakdown of candidate fundraising totals for the year so far, along with some large and notable donations.
Each candidate’s campaign finance documents can be viewed in full at the Santa Barbara elections website and totals for campaign contributions in the mayor’s race are here.
District 4
Jay Higgins
In what appears to be the most competitive race, land use planner Jay Higgins leads the contest with $74,000 raised as of Friday’s filing. Higgins, the chair of the Santa Barbara Planning Commission, received a $14,000 donation from Marry Lou Mullin of Vancouver, Washington; $1,000 from architect Ryan Mills; and $1,500 from land use attorney Susan Petrovich. Higgins has $62,275 in the bank to spend.
Kristen Sneddon
Sneddon jumped into the race late, but has quickly gained ground and emerged as a formidable candidate. She reported no fundraising dollars for the first half of the year, but since July 1 has raised $24,192. Sneddon, an environmental scientist and the daughter-in-law of former Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, received a $5,000 check from the Santa Barbara Police Officers Association; $1,000 from Laurie Ashton; $250 from State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson; and $500 from Re-Elect Supervisor Janet Wolf 2018 campaign. Sneddon has $18,564 in the bank to spend.
James Scafide
Scafide has raised $45,275. Scafide has received several donations from unions, including $7,500 from The Service Employees International Union Local 620; $1,000 from the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 114; $1,000 from the International Brotherhood Electrical Workers PAC Educational Fund; and $1,000 from 2017 Southern California Pipe Trades District. Scafide is an attorney who has served as a councilman and mayor of a small city in Ohio. Scafide has $31,736 left in the bank.
District 5
Eric Friedman
Friedman, a former Santa Barbara County staffer who now works at Trader Joe’s, is heavily supported by unions and leads the District 5 race with $73,963. He collected $7,500 from the Service Employees International Union Local 620; $1,000 from the Plumbers & Steamfitters Local Union 114 PAC and $2,000 from the International Brotherhood Electrical Workers PAC Educational Fund. He has $45,326 left to spend.
Warner McGrew
Retired Santa Barbara Fire Chief McGrew raised $26,290. McGrew’s largest donation was from the Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC, for 2,500, and he also received $1,500 from the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association and $1,000 from Eric Phillips. McGrew has $11,261 to spend during the final month of the campaign.
District 6
Gregg Hart
Incumbent councilman Hart has raised $131,217. Hart received $5,000 from the Services Employees International Union Local 620; a $2,000 donation this from the Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC; $1,000 from the Laborers Local 220 PAC; $1,500 from land use attorney Susan Petrovich; and $1,000 from public relations strategist John Davies. Hart has $91,000 in the bank. Hart previously served two four-year terms on the council in the late-1990s and early 2000s, before returning four years ago.
Jack Ucciferri
Ucciferri, a bicycle advocate and realtor who recently owned a home-sharing business, has raised $3,835. More than half of that came from one individual, retired resident Frank Peters, for $2,500.
Aaron Solis
Solis is the activities director and boys golf coach at San Marcos High School. He did not report any campaign contributions and has told Noozhawk he does not intend to raise any money for his run.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly placed Aaron Solis’ information in the District 4 heading. He is running for the District 6 council seat.
— 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.