Fundraising totals might be an unfair way of measuring the strength of a campaign, but the speed with which a candidate is taking in cash does say something about his or her momentum. So in the crowded race to become the next state representative from Seattle's 43rd District (Capitol Hill, U-District, Wallingford) which of the five good liberals is raising money fastest?

Interestingly, when measured in month-over-month percentage increases, it's the candidate who still has the least money overall. Peter Steinbrueck aide Stephanie Pure has more than doubled her cash on hand since early April, due in large part to a packed campaign kickoff event held last week at Top of the Market, overlooking Puget Sound. "It added a lot of momentum to my campaign," says Pure, who now has about $25,000.

Pure is still dead last in the overall money race, however, and has a long way to go if she wants to catch up to money frontrunner Jamie Pedersen, the activist-lawyer who has over $84,000. More significant, in the percentage-increase department, may be King County Deputy Prosecutor Bill Sherman, who saw a 90 percent increase in his cash on hand from last month to this month (he now has $37,990) and as a result has vaulted from fifth in the money race to third (behind Pedersen and former Seattle City Councilman Jim Street, who is currently in second with about $60,000).

Sherman, an environmental activist, believes his surge is due in part to a shoe-leather campaign that has taken him to 3,000 doorsteps already. "Now that I'm campaigning full time, this is really starting to take off," says Sherman, who took a leave from his job on April 3 so that he could meet his goal of knocking on 20,000 doors by the fall.

However, right on Sherman's heels, in terms of money raised and percentage increase, is educator Lynne Dodson, who is in fourth place with $37,075 (an 84 percent increase since early April). Meanwhile, Dick Kelley, the chair of the 43rd District Democrats, who has voluntarily limited his contributions to $100 per person, is in fifth, with $29,501 (a comparatively small 24 percent increase). recommended