Board of Supervisors

Supervisor race: Debbie Arnold rakes in cash; also a look at the other two contests

The 5th District candidate raised nearly triple what rival Patterson did from January through mid-March

By Bob Cuddy, Leah Etling and Stephen Curran

Debbie Arnold, running for 5th District supervisor in the June 3 primary, has raised more than $100,000 since January, nearly triple the amount opponent Jim Patterson had brought in, and far more than anyone else running in the three supervisory races.

The increase, heavily weighted with rancher and developer funds, means that Arnold, who raised about $30,000 less than Patterson in the previous reporting period, has more to spend going into the race’s final two months.

Campaign finance reports filed March 17 with the county Clerk-Recorder’s Office show that Arnold had raised $106,652 since January. Patterson, the incumbent, raised $37,726 in the same period.

In the other two races, 3rd District incumbent Jerry Lenthall has inched past challenger Adam Hill in fundraising, while in the 1st District, challenger Frank Mecham continues to outpace incumbent Harry Ovitt.

Lenthall brought in $41,883 — $8,000 more than Hill — between Jan. 1 and March 17. In that period, he raised $157,232 to Hill’s $156,743 — making this a $315,000 race with nearly three months of fundraising to go after the March 17 report.

In the 2006 campaign that pitted Bruce Gibson (who ultimately won) against Rodger Anderson for the 2nd District seat, the candidates together raised more than $325,000.

Money doesn’t guarantee a win, but it gives candidates flexibility and allows them to buy advertisements, send mailers and the like.

Here’s a closer look at the fundraising in the three races.

3rd District

Hill, a Cal Poly lecturer, surprised election-watchers during the last filing period with 265 contributors, most of them giving less than $100. He repeated that pattern, although not the number, this time around, with only three of his 96 contributors giving $1,000 or more.

Psychologist Michelle Reed gave $5,025 and North County wine grape grower Elizabeth Rolph donated $4,000.

Hill’s donors included doctors, park rangers, businessmen, Cal Poly professors and environmentalists. San Luis Obispo City Councilwoman Christine Mulholland donated $250. Sue Luft, a former North County Watch member who is volunteering for Patterson’s campaign, gave $100.

Lenthall, too, had a great majority of small donations coming from the 110 people who gave his campaign money. His largest donor was the Cattlemen’s Association Political Action Committee with $5,000. In all, he received nine contributions of $1,000 or more.

Although Lenthall’s donor list also contained people from all walks of life, it was sprinkled with ranchers or those who support the Protect Our Property Rights group, which fights for the rights of individual property owners and has played a key role in county land-use politics.

The Hartzell family, for example, gave $2,000 total, divided among Hartzell Ranch and Hartzell Drilling. Three Santa Maria farmers—H. D. Perrett, Daniel Childs and Mark Brooks — gave $1,000 each, and Vic Montgomery, whose RRM Design Group created plans for the Dalidio Ranch Marketplace, gave $500. Maury Froman, chief executive officer of The Rottman Group development company, donated $250.

Each candidate has hired a political consultant, Lenthall paying Meridian Pacific of Sacramento $28,760 and Hill hiring Crotty Consulting of San Diego for $15,675.

As of March 17, Hill had a cash balance of $93,552 and Lenthall had $65,178.

5th District

Ranching and development interests were among Arnold’s strongest supporters.

The Pozo rancher and former aide to Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, brought in a $5,000 donation from Castlerock Development, builder of the 220-home Highlands project in Arroyo Grande and Oak Ridge Estates in Atascadero. Prominent North County developer Kelly Gearhart also donated $1,000.

Arnold, who also was an aide to former 5th District Supervisor Mike Ryan, received $5,000 from the San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Political Action Committee and $1,000 each from Souza Construction and the Robin L. Rossi Living Trust.

Other prominent donors included former county Supervisor Ruth Brackett, who gave $1,000, and Protect Our Property Rights attorney Charles Daugherty, who gave $250. Creston businessman Doug Filliponi gave $500, and the Friends of the Oceano Dunes donated $1,000.

Atascadero City Councilman Tom O’Malley and Mike Ryan, who lost to Patterson in 2004, each donated $125. Atascadero Councilman Jerry Clay gave $250.

The donations marked a rapid increase for Arnold. In a Dec. 31 report, she had raised $13,269 to Patterson’s $44,527. Arnold had been campaigning for less than a month at that time.

Patterson, by comparison, has raised much of his money in small donations. San Luis Obispo business owner Dan Ernst and builder Pete Evans each donated $1,000 to his campaign.

Prominent donors include Atascadero Mayor Mike Brennler, who has donated $100, and Councilwoman Ellen Beraud, who donated a total of $250. In addition to her donation to Hill, Mulholland gave Patterson $230.

County Planning Commissioner Sarah Christie, whom Patterson appointed to the position, donated $174.

1st District

In the 1st District race, Mecham, the current mayor of Paso Robles, brought in $22,980 to five-term incumbent Ovitt’s $13,149.

As of March 17, Mecham had raised just over $94,000 and Ovitt about $83,350; Mecham had about $67,800 on hand, while Ovitt had $34,200.

The candidates had been about even in fundraising during the first two reporting periods of the campaign. Both had raised just more than $70,000 at the end of 2007.

Mecham’s most recent reported donations include $5,000 from Michael Rawitser of Paso Robles and $2,500 from D. L. Williams Construction of Victorville.

Seven other individuals and companies contributed $1,000 each to Mecham. They include John Roush of Atascadero, president of Central Coast Cinemas; JM Construction of Bradley; JRW Group of Riverside; Timber Pacific of Paso Robles; Sportswear company owner Deborah Kopack of Templeton; real estate agent John Kratzer of San Diego; and developer Bruce White of Paso Robles.

Ovitt had five $1,000 donors in the last filing period, including John Janneck of Los Angeles, developer Andrew Hanna of Irvine, farmers H. D. Perrett and Mark Brooks of Santa Maria, and construction company owners Daniel and Tara Childs of Santa Maria.