Cleator Wins Hands Down in Race for Donations

San Diego City Councilman Bill Cleator is outspending former Councilwoman Maureen F. O’Connor by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, while former Councilman Floyd Morrow has spent more than $38,000 of his own money in an attempt to overtake the two mayoral front-runners, campaign finance reports filed Thursday show.

The finance statements--the final ones to be filed before the Feb. 25 mayoral primary--show that, as of last Friday, Cleator had received contributions totaling $159,515.20 and had spent $102,415.67. In contrast, O’Connor received $58,934.02 in contributions and reported expenditures totaling $38,606.07. Both candidates said they have since collected about $20,000 more.

Morrow’s financial report showed that he is relying heavily on his own money in an effort to remain competitive in the mayoral campaign. Morrow, who trails his two better-known opponents in most polls, listed contributions totaling $45,763, with $38,190 of that being his own money.

The campaign disclosure statements released Thursday covered the period from Jan. 12 to Feb. 8. During that four-week period, Cleator raised $132,210.21, compared to $44,884.02 for O’Connor. Morrow’s $21,278 total for that period included $16,190 in loans that he made to his campaign and $5,088 in contributions from others.

Cleator’s contribution list is a virtual Who’s Who of San Diego’s Establishment that includes the names of dozens of business executives, politically prominent lawyers and social luminaries.

At least about $30,000--or about 20% of Cleator’s total contributions--came from real estate development interests; that percentage probably is higher, but uncertainty about some of the contributors’ professions makes it impossible to calculate a precise figure.

“I look upon (the contribution total) as a sign that we’ve got a lot of support out there,” Cleator said. “The money’s coming from all over the city from people with all kinds of jobs.”

However, O’Connor, who has pledged not to accept contributions from developers to avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest on land-use decisions if she is elected, argued that the financial reports “make the differences between Mr. Cleator and myself crystal clear.”

O’Connor said her refusal to accept money from developers demonstrates her “commitment . . . to managed growth,” whereas Cleator “believes in business as usual when it comes to development,” she said.

“There is a paranoia out in the community . . . that the developers have more influence in the Planning Department at City Hall than the average citizens or the community planning groups,” O’Connor said. “The people don’t want candidates taking money from developers--it’s that simple.”

In response, Cleator accused O’Connor of “excluding an important part of the community” by refusing to accept campaign donations from developers.

“I think what she’s doing is wrong,” Cleator said. “I don’t think we should stop developers from contributing any more than we should exclude veterinarians or tuna fishermen or any group.”

O’Connor, who last month imposed a $150,000 spending limit on her primary campaign, said Thursday that she expects to spend only about $100,000 before Feb. 25. The former councilwoman, who spent more than $560,000 of her own money in her unsuccessful 1983 race against former Mayor Roger Hedgecock, also emphasized that, to date, she has not spent any of her personal money in this race.

“The money that she spent last time makes it a lot easier for her to do that this time,” noted Cleator, who said that he expects his campaign to spend about $250,000 in the primary. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the primary--in which 10 long shots also are competing--the top two vote-getters will compete in a June 3 runoff.

Cleator’s financial reports show that he has received $250 contributions, the maximum allowed under the city’s campaign laws, from more than 500 individuals. O’Connor has received 184 $250 donations and Morrow, 11.

Television and radio advertisements were the major expense listed on all three major candidates’ finance reports. Cleator spent about $50,000 on TV and radio ads during the period covered by the report, compared to about $18,000 for O’Connor and about $16,000 for Morrow.

Also Thursday, the local chapter of the Sierra Club, saying that none of the major mayoral contenders has offered voters “a clearly articulated platform . . . to protect San Diego’s environment,” announced that it will not endorse a candidate in the primary.

At a downtown news conference, Sierra Club leaders faulted Cleator, Morrow and O’Connor for not taking a leadership role in last fall’s campaign on Proposition A, the growth-management initiative that requires public approval of any development in the city’s “future urbanizing” zone--a 30,000-acre area, mostly in the North City area, set aside for development after 1995. Cleator opposed the initiative, O’Connor remained neutral and Morrow supported the measure but was inactive in the campaign.

“Proposition A was a real litmus test as far as we’re concerned,” said Jay Powell, conservation coordinator of the local Sierra Club chapter, which has about 5,000 members in the city. “We haven’t really seen a blueprint of how (the candidates) are going to be as an environmental and growth-management leader.” Powell added, however, that one of the candidates still could receive the organization’s endorsement in the runoff “if they improve . . . their platforms.”

Ruth Duemler, the Sierra Club’s local chairwoman, said that the Sierra Club found both positive and negative points in each of the three major contenders’ environmental records.

The club praised Cleator for working to bring “a clean cruise ship industry” to San Diego, but added that he “has been out of touch” with the public on the growth issue because of his numerous pro-development votes during his six years on the council. In particular, the club criticized Cleator for voting for approval of the controversial La Jolla Valley project. The council’s approval of that development in the future urbanizing zone led environmentalists to launch the Proposition A campaign.

Noting that O’Connor helped create the city’s growth-management plan in the 1970s, Duemler said that the former councilwoman “has a laudable record” that also includes a leadership role in expanding public transit through development of the San Diego Trolley. However, the Sierra Club official faulted O’Connor for not working aggressively to protect San Diego Bay during her years on the board of the San Diego Unified Port District and emphasized that she was “noticeably absent” during the Proposition A campaign.

Morrow, meanwhile, drew praise from the group for his role on the council in creating the Tecolote Canyon Preserve and the environmental growth fund. Duemler added, however, that Sierra Club members “remember with concern” Morrow’s 1975 vote for development of North City West.