Aguirre Leads Spending by Putting $93,438 Into Race for Council Seat

Lawyer Michael Aguirre, his campaign treasury bloated by his own money, is heavily outspending all other San Diego City Council contenders, while candidates Marla Marshall and Neil Good have a large lead in contributions, campaign finance reports show.

The reports, filed with the city clerk’s office, show that, as of June 30, Aguirre had loaned nearly $75,000 to his campaign for the 8th District seat now held by appointed Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros, who is not running in the Sept. 15 primary. To date Aguirre has spent $93,438.34 on his campaign--more than double any other candidate in the four council races.

The 8th District stretches from Hillcrest through downtown and south to Otay Mesa and San Ysidro.

Marshall, an account manager with a title company, received the most contributions during the six-month period covered in the reports, filed over the past several days. The former administrative assistant to Councilwoman Gloria McColl, Marshall received donations totaling $52,996 in her bid to represent the 4th District--composed of Southeast San Diego, Paradise Hills, Logan Heights and parts of Golden Hill and Encanto--a seat being vacated by retiring Councilman William Jones.

Good, now on leave from his position as administrative assistant to County Supervisor Leon Williams, was a close second in fund-raising with $50,716 in contributions in his 8th District campaign.

Out-Raised, Outspent

Led by those financial performances, each of the council races features one candidate who currently has either heavily out-raised or outspent his opponents. Marshall, for example, holds a nearly 5-to-1 fund-raising edge over her 4th District opponents, while Aguirre has outspent his nearest competitor in the 8th District by 2 1/2 to 1.

In the 2nd District, architect Ron Roberts maintained a nearly 2-to-1 edge over his opponents in both fund-raising and expenditures--a gap, however, that has disappeared in the month since the June 30 deadline--while in the 6th District, lawyer Bob Ottilie outdistanced his nearest rival by about 3 to 2.

Aguirre, who began his campaign more than a year ago, has spent $74,779.46 of his own money in the 8th District race to date, according to financial statements. Considered one of the front-runners in the race, Aguirre also received $12,506 in contributions--a relatively modest total surpassed by three other 8th District candidates and eight overall. Much of the nearly $94,000 that he has spent covered expenses connected with tens of thousands of mailers that Aguirre has distributed in his campaign.

Another major 8th District candidate, San Diego State history professor Robert Filner, also has heavily subsidized his campaign with his own personal funds. Filner’s finance report shows that, as of June 30, he had loaned $22,000 to his campaign--a larger sum than he had been able to raise through contributions. Filner, who lost narrowly to McColl in 1983 in the 3rd District, received $18,999.58 in donations and spent $37,716.34, the reports show.

Roberts, former chairman of the San Diego city Planning Commission, received $39,866 and spent $16,852.91, the highest totals in the race for the 2nd District seat being vacated this fall by Councilman Bill Cleator. Nearly two-thirds of Roberts’ contributions came from developers and real-estate interests, including contractors, realtors, architects and others.

Others in 2nd District

Among other major 2nd District candidates, San Diego city school board President Kay Davis had raised $24,583 and spent $8,204.53, while public-relations consultant Byron Wear received $11,385 in contributions and spent $9,231.71. However, Davis said that she has nearly tripled her contributions total in the past month, in the process narrowing--or perhaps eliminating--Roberts’ financial edge.

The 2nd District includes Ocean Beach, Mission Hills, Point Loma, Loma Portal, Old Town and parts of Hillcrest and University Heights.

In the 4th District, Marshall had spent $41,786 of the $52,996 that she had raised as of June 30, easily eclipsing the fund-raising effort of the candidate widely considered to be her strongest rival, the Rev. George Stevens. Stevens, an aide to Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) and associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, had raised $10,992 and spent $10,040 as of June 30. Like Roberts, Marshall received about two-thirds of her contributions from development interests, while ministers and college officials were among Stevens’ major backers.

Wes Pratt, who had been considered the 4th District’s front-runner until he was forced to run as a write-in candidate after failing last month to secure enough valid signatures on nominating petitions to qualify for the ballot, raised $11,338 and spent $8,221.30. Richard (Tip) Calvin Jr., another potentially strong candidate who, like Pratt, fell short of the signature requirement and now must run as a write-in, received $2,632.50 in contributions and spent $1,802.

Lawyer Ottilie received $37,088.86 in contributions and spent $13,680.64 in the 6th District, where five candidates are on the ballot seeking to succeed retiring Councilman Mike Gotch. Ottilie was followed by lawyer Bruce Henderson and executive search consultant Jim Ryan, who raised $24,860 and $9,154, respectively. Bob Glaser, a lawyer and well-known environmental activist, raised $3,130 and had spent only $142.33 as of June 30 in his 6th District race. The district includes Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Clairemont and part of Linda Vista.

Were it not for Aguirre’s and Filner’s personal loans to their campaigns, Good’s $50,716 contribution total would have made him the fund-raising leader in the 8th District race. Of that amount, Good has spent $30,368.49.

Another 8th District candidate, businessman Bob Castaneda, also surpassed both Aguirre and Filner in contributions, receiving $21,233 and spending $11,712.09. Former investment broker Ty Smith had raised $4,292.35, while former television reporter Jesse Macias, another candidate disqualified for failing to receive sufficient signatures on his nominating petitions, received $4,395 in contributions to his now-defunct campaign.

Three political long shots--magician Loch David Crane and pharmacist Raffi Simonian in the 2nd District, and U.S. postal worker Robert Maestas in the 4th--filed financial reports indicating that each has raised less than $1,000. As of late Monday, the reports of a handful of other candidates--by law, the reports had to be postmarked by last Friday--had not been received by the clerk’s office.