New Law Helps Keep a Lid on Spending in Santa Clarita Council Race

A Santa Clarita city cap on campaign contributions and a reluctance to accept money from developers have kept the race for City Council a mostly low-cost affair, according to financial disclosure statements released Thursday.

The reports showed that some candidates have relied heavily on small donations of less than $100 while others have taken out large personal loans to finance campaigns in the first council election since Santa Clarita incorporated in 1987. Ten candidates are running for three seats in the April 10 election.

Two candidates, rancher Andy Martin and retired heating fitter Wayne Carter, said they had not raised any money for their campaigns.

A city ordinance that took effect March 15 banned individual political contributions exceeding $250. Even before the ordinance became law, most candidates declined to accept more than $250 or take money from developers in a city where overdevelopment is a common complaint among residents.

When a proposed road tax was overwhelmingly defeated in the Santa Clarita Valley last fall, the measure’s opponents credited its demise in part to the public’s dislike of developers who backed the proposal.

Mayor Jo Anne Darcy and two other incumbents seeking reelection to four-year terms--Councilmen Carl Boyer III and Dennis Koontz--lead seven challengers in cash and in-kind donations, according to the financial statements submitted Thursday.

Darcy raised $18,783, about half of it in the form of $250 donations. Her largest contribution was $1,000 from Norm Gray, owner of a Lincoln-Mercury dealership, but that money was received before the campaign law went into effect.

Koontz raised $8,042 and Boyer $6,966. Among Koontz’s donations was $300 from three executives with Newhall Land and Farming Co., the area’s largest developer. “I’m not embarrassed at all to take contributions from a responsible developer,” Koontz said.

Koontz noted that he had returned half of a $500 contribution even though he had received it before the campaign ordinance became effective.

Jill Klajic, a community activist, raised $5,946, followed by Vera Johnson, a retired educator who reported $4,474. Johnson took out two loans totaling $2,600, campaign reports said.

Herb Wolfe, a retired Air Force investigator, said he had raised $3,762, half of it in the form of a $1,900 loan.

Kenneth Dean, an architectural designer, raised $425 in cash and spent $600 of his own money for a total of $1,025. Linda Calvert, a real estate agent, said she had raised $400.

Most candidates spent their campaign funds on flyers, posters and postage.