In our story today, we gave you a good overview of how much cash each of the candidates for city attorney has raised in the last two and a half months.
Well, the campaign statements not only list how much each campaign has raised but also say how much each candidate has spent since the beginning of the year, and how much debt each campaign has accumulated.
Judge Jan Goldsmith spent more than twice as much as any other candidate between Jan. 1 and March 17. Goldsmith pulled in $38,644 but he also spent $20,117.17. Including the cash he brought in before the end of last year, Goldsmith is now left with about $34,860.60 in the bank, but he also has outstanding debts of $6,590.98, bringing his grand total to about $28,269.
That’s significantly less than Goldsmith’s main rival, Republican City Councilman Brian Maienschein, who was the big winner in the early money-raising. Maienschein pulled in $67,798 in the first two and a half months of 2008. He spent $7,456.96 in the same period, leaving him with $57,455.04 left in the bank, and he has outstanding debts of $23,225.11, bringing his total cash on hand from the period to $34,229.93. Add the $250,000 he has left over from an uncontested City Council race in 2004 and Maienschein is approaching a $285,000 warchest.
Councilman Scott Peters, who pulled in $22,865 and lent his campaign $45,000, spent less than any of the other big four candidates. He spent $5,698.45, leaving him with $62,166.55 in the bank, but he’s also got outstanding debts of $77,092.71, leaving his grand total at in the red by $14,926.16.
Lastly, incumbent Mike Aguirre raised $7,474.66 in the first two and a half months of this year. He can add to that $4,619 he raised last year. Aguirre also spent $6,938.37, leaving him with $7,323.82. Subtract $1,005.29 in debts from that and Aguirre’s grand total is $6,318.53.
Of course, with all of these figures, it’s important to remember this: everyone’s assuming Peters and Aguirre will keep writing their campaigns checks to pay for whatever needs their campaigns have, so their fundraising efforts aren’t as crucial as the other candidates’.
That basically leaves Goldsmith and Amy Lepine. Lepine has barely gotten off the ground with her fundraising as yet and Goldsmith’s been spending quite a bit and less than $30,000 saved up.
I just had a quick chat with Goldsmith. He joked with me that he has been spending the day on the phone, fundraising. Then he reminded me of the fact that he doesn’t enjoy fundraising. Goldsmith also told me he has, in all seriousness, been ramping up his money raising efforts, but stressed that if this race is all about money, “Then I’m just not they guy who’s going to win.”
Goldsmith said he’s been giving three to five speeches a day (“I think I’ve actually been to every Rotary Club in the city”) and said he plans to keep on pounding the pavement and getting his message across.
“If I have to talk to 100,000 people, then I will,” Goldsmith said. “This campaign is about communicating and I’m going to communicate as much as I can.”