Campaign Finance Update

This year’s crowded city council races are expected to get more crowded still. What that means—in a year when donors aren’t giving to city races, or are giving less, because of the economy—is that most of the money that is out there is going to go to just a few people, leaving the remaining candidates to pick up the crumbs.

It’s early yet, so this isn’t gospel, but the candidates I expect to see raise serious cash—based on their name recognition, endorsements, and fundraising so far—are attorney Sally Bagshaw, son-of-Charley Jordan Royer, low-income advocate/organizer David Bloom, and Sierra Club leader Mike O’Brien. Bagshaw and Royer have both been in and around city politics for a long time; Bloom will be able to muster support from the Nick Licata crowd (much more so, obviously, if Licata changes his mind and decides not to run for reelection), and O’Brien is a powerhouse of the environmental community. All have shown an ability to raise a lot of money quickly, and all—save Royer and Bagshaw, who are running for different seats—are pulling on very different funding pools.

For example, digging into the campaign-finance reports and endorsement lists, Bagshaw’s contributors (she’s raised $6,300) and endorsers include a lot of old-school Seattle politico types — folks like former Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman (who maxed out at $700), former city council member Sue Donaldson (who gave $200) and numerous current elected officials, including County Council members Dow Constantine and Julia Patterson and state representatives Scott White and Jamie Pedersen. In contrast, Bloom’s list (he’s raised $16,836) includes housing and social-justice types like community activist Cindy Domingo (who gave $100), Bloom’s Seattle Displacement Coalition co-founder, John Fox ($150), longtime downtown social worker Joe Martin ($200), former Seattle HUD director Bob Santos ($200) and Trinity United Methodist Church pastor and Tent City advocate Rich Lang ($250). Meanwhile, although O’Brien’s list of financial supporters remains brief, it includes Northwest Energy Coalition director Sara Patton ($100) and Vulcan VP Chris Purcell ($375). And Royer’s, like Bagshaw’s, (he’s raised $8,190) includes old-Seattle political types like former mayor Paul Schell ($200), ex-City Light chief Gary Zarker ($150), and, of course, Royer’s father ($700). Of those four, Bagshaw’s the only one in the red, with a deficit of about $15,000.

Of course, it’s way too early to count anyone out. James Donaldson—whose campaign name, “TEAM Donaldson,” stands for “Together Each Achieves More“—has pulled in $14,000 for his campaign for either city council or mayor, much of it from companies like Port Blakely Tree Farms, Windermere Real Estate, and insurance company Tyrisco, Inc. However, he’s spent more than that, leaving him with a $1,000 deficit. Jessie Israel—one of only two women, including Bagshaw, running for council so far—has pulled in just over $6,400, with about $1,000 on hand. The remaining candidates, excepting incumbents, have all raised less than $5,000—except for third-time candidate Robert Rosencrantz, who gave himself $10,000 but is nearly $20,000 in the hole, thanks in part to a $5,000 (!) expenditure to speech coach Michael Shadow.

The next batch of campaign finance reports come out March 10.