Long, Incumbents Lead the Packs in Final Cash Report Before Vote

The final campaign finance reports released before the upcoming Nov. 5 elections show that incumbents still lead challengers in fund-raising for most city, county and school board races.

In the open race for a county Board of Supervisors seat, candidate Kathy Long has raised more than twice what her opponent, Camarillo Councilman Mike Morgan, has brought in and has far more left to spend in the final week of the campaign.

Long, with $98,850 in contributions, has raised more than any candidate countywide, followed by Oxnard Councilman Andres Herrera with $53,000.

The largest contributions in the past month came from a group of dealerships at the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall that gave $7,000 to two candidates in the city’s council race. Meanwhile in Simi Valley, developers and small businesses poured thousands of dollars into the campaigns of the city’s three incumbents.

The reports cover the fund-raising period from Oct. 1 to Oct. 19. They were due Thursday, but can also be postmarked by that date and sent via overnight mail.

Board of Supervisors

Long, a top aide to retiring Supervisor Maggie Kildee, collected $13,220 in contributions since Oct. 1, with $15,502 left over for the remaining days of the campaign. To date, Long has collected a total of $98,850 in campaign contributions.

By comparison, Morgan reported $10,764 in contributions during the most recent reporting period, including $6,000 that the candidate lent his campaign. He had $1,634 cash on hand to finish the race.

In all, Morgan has collected $42,424.

But Morgan said money should not be a deciding factor in the race.

“I’m hoping that money doesn’t buy the election,” he said. “I’m hoping it is won on merit.”

Morgan and Long are competing in the sprawling 3rd District, which includes Ojai, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Camarillo and portions of Thousand Oaks.

Thousand Oaks

City Councilman Mike Markey reported $14,187 during the last period for a total of $32,280. Markey’s largest contribution--indeed, the largest single contribution to date in the nine-candidate Thousand Oaks race--came from the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall Assn., a group of auto dealers who gave him $7,000. He also received $1,000 from the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, and several $100 contributions from developers and construction firms.

Marshall Dixon, a retired auto dealership manager, received $10,478 this period for a total of $24,645. He also received $7,000 from the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall Assn., as well as $500 from the Building Industry Assn.

Planning Commissioner Linda Parks received $4,958 for the period, bringing her total to $13,300. The slow-growth advocate received $1,000 from Malinda Pennoyer Chouinard, a co-owner of Patagonia Inc., and $750 from the Thousand Oaks Employees Assn., the city’s largest workers union.

Marketing consultant Dan Del Campo raised $4,705 for a total of $7,818. Notable among his contributions was a $1,000 pledge from Chouinard of Patagonia, and a $2,000 contribution from Walter E. Johnson of San Miguel Farms.

Tom Lee, a UCLA student and computer consultant, raised $3,487 this period for a total of $24,119. He also lent his campaign another $2,000, raising the total he has invested to about $10,000.

Ramaul Rush, a children’s court investigator in Los Angeles, did not receive any new contributions, and has a campaign account of $3,491. Norm Jackson, a retired mechanic, did not file a report Thursday. Office machines salesman Nick E. Quidwai received $510 for a total of $11,811, most of it his own money.

Civil engineer David Seagal, who is planning to spend less than $1,000 on his campaign, trumpeted his lack of cash.

“My hands are untainted by the filthy lucre,” he said.

In addition to the candidates, a group called Citizens to Protect Our General Plan--Yes on Measure E raised more than $17,000 in the past month to promote a growth control measure on the city ballot.

Simi Valley

City Councilwoman Barbara Williamson continued to hold a significant fund-raising lead among the six candidates vying for two council seats, receiving $23,986 this period for a total of $35,584.

Most of Williamson’s money came in large contributions from developers such as West Venture Homes, which gave her $500, and local businesses such as the Sycamore Unocal gas station, which donated $2,000. She also received $500 from the Building Industry Assn. and $1,000 from Waste Management Inc., which operates the Simi Valley Landfill.

The other incumbent, longtime Councilman Bill Davis, received $8,160 this period for a total of $13,421. Like Williamson, Davis received $500 from West Venture Homes and $1,000 from Waste Management Inc.

Mayor Greg Stratton, who is running unopposed, received $2,336 this period for a total of $8,411. Most of the contributions of $100 or more came from Griffin Industries Inc. or construction-related companies that listed themselves as intermediaries for the developer.

Financial planner Michael S. McCaffrey received $1,400 this period for a total of $26,151. The latest contributions include an $800 loan from McCaffrey to his campaign, bringing the total he has contributed this year to $1,200.

Contractor Glenn Woodbury received a total of $3,515 in contributions this period, bringing his total to $5,669.

Oxnard

Councilman Andres Herrera easily outpaced his four campaign rivals for a City Council seat. Herrera reported total contributions of more than $53,000, including more than $8,500 during the latest period.

He has spent just over $46,000 on his reelection campaign to date.

At the same time, Councilman Bedford Pinkard reported slightly more than $17,700 in total contributions, with almost $6,800 of that coming in October. Pinkard has spent $15,858 on his campaign so far.

John Zaragoza declared contributions during the latest filing period of $6,449, bringing his total campaign funding to almost $30,000. But he already has spent $26,542.

Candidate Roy Lockwood reported total campaign contributions of $10,650, all of it coming in October. Lockwood still has more than $6,000 in his war chest, however, having spent just $4,344.

Emmett Whatley recorded the smallest amount of campaign contributions in the Oxnard council race. Whatley submitted papers declaring just $1,508 in total contributions, all of which came during the last month. He has spent just $200 to date.

No new financial reports were filed by the four mayoral candidates: incumbent Manuel M. Lopez and challengers Oscar Karrin, Anthony De La Cerda and Robert Taylor.

Camarillo

Thousands of dollars have been raised and spent in the past three weeks in Camarillo, where eight candidates are vying for two open seats.

Real estate broker Al E. Fox topped the list with more than $12,500 in contributions, including $4,500 in personal loans to his campaign. He reported $4,485 in contributions during the latest filing period, and has spent more than $9,000 of his total war chest.

Chamber of Commerce board member Sherry Cole is a close second to Fox, however. She reported total contributions of $11,736, including $2,421 during the latest filing period. Cole already has spent nearly $7,300 on her campaign.

Kevin Kildee, the stepson of retiring county Supervisor Maggie Kildee, is just behind Cole with $10,930 in contributions, $1,675 of which was collected during the past three weeks. He already has spent $8,437, including more than $2,400 this month.

Pleasant Valley School District board member Jan McDonald and Planning Commissioner William Liebmann also reported thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

McDonald declared $7,216 overall, including $2,248 during the just-concluded period. Of that, she has spent more than $6,200.

Liebmann reported total contributions of $7,055, with nearly $2,900 in the latest period. Liebmann has spent more than $6,100 to date.

Candidates Mona Schidel and Dennis Fandey both filed papers indicating that they expected to spend less than $1,000 on their entire campaigns. Richard Lundberg had not filed his latest campaign contributions by 5 p.m.

Moorpark

Moorpark City Clerk Lillian Hare declined to release copies of the finance reports in the race for two City Council seats until Friday morning.

Copies provided by some of the candidates revealed a wide disparity in the amount raised by several campaigns.

Councilman Bernardo Perez, one of four men vying to replace retiring Mayor Paul Lawrason, received $4,290 in contributions during the latest filing period, bringing his campaign total to $9,999. Much of the money came from local business people, including the owners of several local restaurants and markets.

One of his competitors, Ventura County Planning Commissioner Michael Wesner, also drew heavily from such local businesses as Anderson Rubbish Disposal and Pruner Medical Enterprises. His campaign brought in $1,511 during the latest reporting period, for a campaign total of $5,899.

Real estate agent Debbie Rodgers Teasley, one of five people seeking two seats on the council, reported just $275 raised in this period, bringing her total to $3,939. More than half of the new cash--$150--came from the National Women’s Political Caucus.

Council candidate Bill La Perch and mayoral contender Edward “Pete” Peters both said Thursday they would file forms indicating their campaigns had collected and spent less than $1,000 overall.

Board of Education

In the four-candidate race for two seats on the Ventura County Board of Education, all contenders reported significant fund-raising boosts in the latest reports.

Leading the lot with a total of $15,864 is Janet Lindgren, a former Oxnard Union High School trustee challenging incumbent Wendy Larner, part of the board’s Christian conservative majority.

Lindgren took in $7,125 in the last reporting period. Her single biggest donation was a $3,000 check from Citizens for Responsible Education, a group active in a failed recall attempt against Larner and another right-wing trustee. Larner, an Ojai homemaker, chalked up $3,590 in new contributions in the latest reporting period for a total of $13,013.

In the scramble for the board’s other open seat, contender Ron Matthews tallied contributions of $3,182 in the most recent period. His total is $4,227.

His opponent, Ocean View trustee Paul Chatman took in his first contributions of the campaign--$5,305 in all--in the most recent reporting period. He put $4,000 of his own money into the campaign.

Times staff writers Carlos V. Lozano and Mack Reed contributed to this report, as did correspondents David R. Baker, Kate Folmar, Jeff McDonald and Scott Steepleton.