Last-Minute Spending on Council Race Pushes Total Past $1 Million

Fueled by more than $120,000 of the candidates’ personal funds during the last week alone, the rapidly escalating price tag of the eight campaigns for the San Diego City Council surpassed $1 million on Wednesday.

Records in the city clerk’s office showed that, in the week since the eight candidates’ final pre-election campaign finance report was filed, four candidates have pumped $122,000 of their own money into their respective campaigns.

The 11th-hour spending frenzy--with most of the money financing expensive television and radio ads--is being led by 8th District candidate Bob Filner, who spent $50,000 of his own money during the past three days, raising the total amount that he has loaned to his campaign to date to $149,000, according to Jack Fishkin, the city’s election officer.

Filner’s opponent, lawyer Michael Aguirre, spent an additional $15,000 in personal funds recently--making his overall total $151,590.64--and suggested that he may spend up to $30,000 more in an attempt to match Filner dollar-for-dollar as their increasingly bitter campaign for the seat now occupied by Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros enters its final days before next Tuesday’s election.

“I don’t want to do it, but when you’ve come this far, you can’t let yourself get beat in the last week,” Aguirre said. “We’re both going to be watching what the other’s doing the rest of the way.”

Turning to Personal Wealth

In the race for the 2nd District seat being vacated by Bill Cleator, architect Ron Roberts has spent $38,000 in personal funds since last week, according to the financial records filed with the clerk’s office.

The other candidate who has turned to his personal wealth in recent days is lawyer Bruce Henderson, who loaned an additional $19,000--on top of the $25,910 in personal money that he has already spent--to his 6th District campaign against lawyer Bob Ottilie.

“Raising money without making promises is a very difficult thing to do,” Henderson said. “My opponent is getting a lot of money from special interests, so I’ll put in what I have to in order to match him and get out my message.”

The financial disclosure statements filed last week showed that, as of Oct. 17, the eight council finalists had received contributions and loans totaling $958,536.90, of which $899,417.15 had been spent by that date. Some of that money was spent before the Sept. 15 primaries in the four council districts.

Therefore, the additional $122,000 in personal funds spent by the four candidates since then pushed both the candidates’ total receipts and expenses beyond the $1-million mark. Those candidates, as well as the other four finalists, also have obviously spent tens of thousands of additional dollars in contributions received since the Oct. 17 cutoff date for the previous financial report, causing the campaigns’ total cost to spiral even higher.

The four candidates’ recent personal loans were detailed in telegrams sent to the city clerk’s office. Under city election laws, candidates who spend more than $1,000 of their own money between last week’s financial report and next Tuesday’s election must notify the clerk’s office of those expenditures.

8th District Leads

The most dramatic infusion of personal funds has occurred in the 8th District race, where Aguirre and Filner now have spent a cumulative total of about $300,000 of their own money, a figure certain to rise by Election Day. The new personal loans raised Filner’s overall spending total to at least $220,000 and Aguirre’s to about $210,000.

Throughout the campaign, Filner has referred to the two candidates’ escalating costs as an “arms race.” In keeping with that metaphor, the candidates’ latest spending spree may have put the 8th District race on a red alert.

In recent days, both the Filner and Aguirre campaigns have closely monitored the city clerk’s office and checked with television stations in an effort to get an up-to-the-minute status report on their opponent. When one learns that the other has spent more money, each usually responds in kind.

“I guess it might be funny if it weren’t so expensive,” Aguirre said.

Both Filner and Aguirre agree that their personal spending has reached, in Filner’s words, “an obscene level.” But neither has been willing to cap the spending, fearful that doing so would give a competitive edge to his opponent in the race’s crucial final days.

Spending Could Increase

“I think he’s already more than matched our (TV) buy, so there’s always the possibility we may have to put more in,” Filner said. “We’ll do what we have to do.”

The $38,000 that Roberts loaned his campaign in the 2nd District race represents the only personal money that he has spent to date, “and there won’t be anymore,” he said.

“We just needed this to keep things flowing in the final week,” said Roberts, who has spent more than $225,000 overall in his race. “But since my opponent has already put in his own personal money, too, I don’t feel like I’m doing anything wrong.”

As of Oct. 17, Roberts’ opponent, public relations consultant Byron Wear, had spent $16,910 in personal funds and $67,016 overall. Wear said Wednesday that he views Roberts’ recent personal loan as “a sign that he’s worried--and he should be.”

Henderson, meanwhile, said that he has been forced to rely in part on his personal funds in order not to “get overwhelmed by special-interest contributions” received by his opponent, Ottilie, who was outspending him by about $23,000--$120,280 to $97,289--as of Oct. 17.

“I’m just doing what I have to do to stay with him,” Henderson said.