ELECTIONS VENTURA CITY COUNCIL : 11 Candidates Report $54,000 in Contributions

More than $54,000 has poured into campaign coffers in the crowded race for Ventura City Council, with two pro-growth candidates and an incumbent slow-growth councilman collecting the biggest share of donations.

By the 5 p.m. deadline Thursday, 11 of the 19 candidates for the three open City Council seats had filed financial disclosure forms as required by state law. Eighteen of the candidates are registered and one is running a write-in campaign.

The rest of the forms may be arriving by mail and will be acceptable so long as they are postmarked by the deadline, said City Clerk Barbara Kam. After a 10-day grace period, any candidate who does not disclose records of campaign finances could be subject to a $100 fine, Kam said.

So far, two leading pro-growth candidates and an incumbent slow-growth advocate have raised the most money in the campaign for the November election.

Nursery owner Greg Carson had received $13,710 in campaign contributions, including donations of $100 to $500 from a variety of Ventura business owners. Carson’s campaign also won financial support of $250 from Carolyn Leavens, head of the pro-growth Venturans for a Responsible Government, and $250 from Katherine Haley, a prominent Ventura County Republican.

Labor attorney Tom Buford took in the next highest amount, reporting $9,388 in campaign contributions, including $100 to $500 donations from local businesses and $375 from Leavens and her husband, Paul.

Incumbent Deputy Mayor Donald Villeneuve, the only registered candidate so far to declare himself part of the slow-growth movement, received $7,159.49 in donations. Villeneuve’s fund includes $100 donations from fellow council members Cathy Bean and Gary Tuttle and a $1,000 contribution from Yvon Chouinard, owner of Patagonia Inc.

The upscale outdoor clothing manufacturer has not endorsed any candidates so far this year. In 1989, Patagonia took an active role in helping push three slow-growth candidates to victory.

Steve Bennett, who is running a write-in campaign as a slow-growth candidate, loaned his campaign $5,000 of his own money.

The four candidates have already spent much of their campaign money on postage, printing and photographs, according to their financial reports.

Jamie Stewart-Bentley, a clinical psychologist, reported taking in $1,590 in contributions, while spending $2,115 on printing and the services of a consulting firm called Voter Tech.

Other candidates reported taking in contributions of less than $1,000, which exempted them from listing each donor. Those included: author Keith Burns, operations manager Louis Cunningham, student Brian Lee Rencher, children’s advocate John Sudak, gas station owner Robert van der Valk and engineer Carroll Dean Williams.

Some political action groups also filed financial reports on their campaign war chests.

The pro-growth Venturans for a Responsible Government reported taking in $10,443 in contributions, most of them from Ventura ranchers, including the Leavenses, who donated $500.

The slow-growth Alliance for Ventura’s Future reported $465 in contributions, but declared a balance of $2,498 in its coffers due to earlier donations.