Drown’s Finances Far Outpace Rivals’ in Sheriff’s Race : Election: Disclosure reports also show Chacon and Ballesteros nearly even in 79th Assembly District spending.

San Diego County sheriff candidate Jack Drown has received nearly as much in campaign contributions as the combined total of his four competitors, and a state assemblyman facing the toughest campaign of his political career is being closely matched in fund-raising by his major opponent, finance reports showed Friday.

Drown, an assistant sheriff who has been endorsed by retiring Sheriff John Duffy, has raised $87,651, more than twice as much as any of his opponents and only about $10,000 less than the four other candidates’ overall fund-raising total.

In one of the county’s most competitive state legislative contests, Assemblyman Pete Chacon (D-San Diego) has out-raised former Democratic San Diego City Councilwoman Celia Ballesteros by a relatively slim margin in the 79th District contest, $128,128 to $117,084.

Another state legislative incumbent facing a stiff challenge in the June 5 primary, Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier (R-Encinitas) has outspent her major GOP opponent, former Del Mar Mayor Ronnie Delaney, by a more than 2-1 margin--a gap that Delaney has attempted to close by loaning more than $35,000 to her own 75th District campaign.

And in the county’s most expensive state legislative campaign--the special runoff for state Sen. Lucy Killea’s former 78th Assembly District seat--former Democratic San Diego City Councilman Mike Gotch has out-raised his Republican opponent, one-time City Hall aide Jeff Marston, $229,151 to $195,422.

Among the competitive elections on the June 5 ballot, one of the greatest financial disparities among candidates in a single race is found in the contest to succeed Duffy, who late last year announced plans to end his 20-year career as sheriff by stepping down next January.

Drown, one of the Sheriff’s Department’s three assistant sheriffs and the candidate whom Duffy would prefer to see succeed him, has easily outdistanced the rest of the field in fund raising, as underlined by the fact that his $87,651 total is more than double the $38,363 treasury of his nearest competitor, Escondido Police Chief Vince Jimno.

Two other major candidates in the sheriff’s contest, sheriff’s captain and San Diego school board member Jim Roache and former San Diego Police Chief Ray Hoobler, have raised $27,273 and $26,675, respectively. Jim Messenger, a senior Carlsbad police officer who is widely regarded as a long shot, had raised only $5,928 as of May 19, the finance reports show.

In the state legislative contests, Chacon, who has been buffeted by questions over his ethics and overall effectiveness in his campaign for an 11th two-year term, overcame Ballesteros’ early fund-raising lead--as of March 17, she had out-raised the incumbent by about $14,000--to gain about a $12,000 edge himself as their increasingly acrimonious campaign enters the final week and a half.

Since March 18, Chacon has raised $100,578, contrasted with Ballesteros’ $74,525 total. A third candidate in the 79th District Democratic primary, newspaper editor John Warren, has raised and spent only $4,755.

In the 75th District contest, Mojonnier, who is running for a fifth term, has raised $92,747--a total that would give her a wide edge over Delaney were it not for Delaney’s increasing reliance on her own personal funds to underwrite her campaign.

Although Delaney has received only slightly more than half as much as Mojonnier in contributions--$48,480--she has been able to keep financial pace with the incumbent by loaning herself $35,500, including a $25,000 loan made Thursday. As of May 19, Mojonnier had spent $96,854, more than double Delaney’s $45,359 total.

The two other candidates in the 75th District Republican primary, La Jolla businesswoman Fay McGrath and Poway school board member Stan Rodkin, lag far behind the two front-runners in contributions. McGrath’s contributions total $18,401, with nearly two-thirds of that--$11,500--her own money, while Rodkin has raised only $5,488.

In the county’s costliest state legislative race, the final price tag in the special race for the 78th Assembly District vacancy created by Democrat Killea’s election to the state Senate last December is likely to easily top the half-million-dollar mark, with both finalists receiving tens of thousands of dollars from political action committees.

In the past week alone, both Democrat Gotch and Republican Marston have received more than $40,000 each, with much of that coming from their respective state parties, both of which recognize the rare political opportunity and challenge posed by an open seat in a district that is among the most competitively balanced in the state.

More than half of Gotch’s $229,151 in contributions have come from political action committees, which have donated more than $118,000 to his campaign since March 18. The vast majority of those PAC contributions came from labor unions and Democratic Party organizations.

An equally large percentage of Marston’s $195,422 contribution total has come from PACs over the past two months, with the Republican receiving about $126,000 in such donations, primarily from business and GOP groups.

In two other state Assembly races in which incumbents face credible challengers, both Republican Tricia Hunter and Democrat Steve Peace have heavily out-raised their opponents.

In the 76th District, Hunter, a Bonita nurse, has raised $135,296, contrasted with the $33,530 total of her GOP primary opponent, anti-abortion activist Connie Youngkin.

Peace has received contributions totaling $76,541 in his 80th District race, four times more than lawyer Robert Garcia, who has raised $17,074. The finance report of Peace’s other challenger in next month’s Democratic primary, lawyer Darrel Vandeveld, had not been received by the county registrar of voters’ office as of Friday’s deadline.