By Dan Lee
Published March 16th 2003 in The Press-Enterprise
RIVERSIDE - Candidates planning to run for the Riverside City Council in November had better prepare to raise a lot of money, because local campaigns can get expensive.
In the last election, Frank Schiavone and Maureen Kane combined to spend more than $250,000 in what is believed to be the most expensive council race in city history.
Mayor Ron Loveridge, whose campaigning experience extends back to 1979, said money is critical for candidates.
"You cannot be an effective candidate unless you raise money. You need enough money to have at least two mailers go out," Loveridge said.
Kane alone spent $140,335 in an unsuccessful campaign to keep her Ward 4 council seat, according to pre-election and post-election disclosure reports.
That also breaks the unofficial spending record for a single candidate in a council race. The old record of $117,317 was set by Ed Adkison when he won the Ward 5 seat in January 2000.
Adkison, who owns a land surveying company, loaned himself $38,500 for his campaign in the weeks leading up to the runoff election.
Adkison said he spent a lot of money because he needed to counter newspaper ads and mailers sent on behalf of his opponent, Greg Kraft, by National Environmental Waste Co., a Riverside trash-hauling company.
Schiavone came close to breaking Adkison's record, spending $117,256 to win the Ward 4 seat last year, according to disclosure reports.
Not every campaign will require such large amounts of cash. Ward 4, which includes Mission Grove, Orangecrest, Hawarden Hills and Canyon Crest, is the wealthiest, most populous and politically active ward in Riverside.
Candidates in less politically active wards have spent much less.
For example, Nancy Hart and Terri Thompson combined to spend just over $20,000 in the Ward 6 contest to represent Arlanza and La Sierra.
Voter turnout in those neighborhoods has historically been lower: just 24 percent voted in the January runoff election that Hart won. In contrast, almost 46 percent of voters turned out for the Ward 4 runoff.
How much will be spent this fall on council campaigns will depend on the wards and the candidates running, Loveridge said. But the overall trend is upward, the mayor said.
"I think the money that is spent on council campaigns will continue to increase . . . Campaign costs continue to increase," Loveridge said.
Steve Frates, a local government expert at Claremont McKenna College, said another factor in campaign spending is whether there are hot button issues.
"It depends on whether or not there are factions . . . willing to pour money into campaigns," Frates said.
Some of the prospective candidates in this November's election have prior campaign experience.
Businessman Art Gage, who is planning to announce his candidacy for the Ward 3 seat March 26, raised $83,597 for a previous race more than a decade ago. Gage lost that race despite raising more than four times the money his opponent, Bob Buster, did.
With three incumbents deciding not to run for another term, November's election may attract many first-time candidates -- candidates who will need to introduce themselves to the voters and get their message out.
But the clock is ticking for candidates still trying to decide whether to run, Loveridge said. Candidates generally need to start their campaign a year before the election, he said.
"You have seven months left," Loveridge said. "It's not a lot of time."
In the last election, Frank Schiavone and Maureen Kane combined to spend more than $250,000 in what is believed to be the most expensive council race in city history.
Mayor Ron Loveridge, whose campaigning experience extends back to 1979, said money is critical for candidates.
"You cannot be an effective candidate unless you raise money. You need enough money to have at least two mailers go out," Loveridge said.
Kane alone spent $140,335 in an unsuccessful campaign to keep her Ward 4 council seat, according to pre-election and post-election disclosure reports.
That also breaks the unofficial spending record for a single candidate in a council race. The old record of $117,317 was set by Ed Adkison when he won the Ward 5 seat in January 2000.
Adkison, who owns a land surveying company, loaned himself $38,500 for his campaign in the weeks leading up to the runoff election.
Adkison said he spent a lot of money because he needed to counter newspaper ads and mailers sent on behalf of his opponent, Greg Kraft, by National Environmental Waste Co., a Riverside trash-hauling company.
Schiavone came close to breaking Adkison's record, spending $117,256 to win the Ward 4 seat last year, according to disclosure reports.
Not every campaign will require such large amounts of cash. Ward 4, which includes Mission Grove, Orangecrest, Hawarden Hills and Canyon Crest, is the wealthiest, most populous and politically active ward in Riverside.
Candidates in less politically active wards have spent much less.
For example, Nancy Hart and Terri Thompson combined to spend just over $20,000 in the Ward 6 contest to represent Arlanza and La Sierra.
Voter turnout in those neighborhoods has historically been lower: just 24 percent voted in the January runoff election that Hart won. In contrast, almost 46 percent of voters turned out for the Ward 4 runoff.
How much will be spent this fall on council campaigns will depend on the wards and the candidates running, Loveridge said. But the overall trend is upward, the mayor said.
"I think the money that is spent on council campaigns will continue to increase . . . Campaign costs continue to increase," Loveridge said.
Steve Frates, a local government expert at Claremont McKenna College, said another factor in campaign spending is whether there are hot button issues.
"It depends on whether or not there are factions . . . willing to pour money into campaigns," Frates said.
Some of the prospective candidates in this November's election have prior campaign experience.
Businessman Art Gage, who is planning to announce his candidacy for the Ward 3 seat March 26, raised $83,597 for a previous race more than a decade ago. Gage lost that race despite raising more than four times the money his opponent, Bob Buster, did.
With three incumbents deciding not to run for another term, November's election may attract many first-time candidates -- candidates who will need to introduce themselves to the voters and get their message out.
But the clock is ticking for candidates still trying to decide whether to run, Loveridge said. Candidates generally need to start their campaign a year before the election, he said.
"You have seven months left," Loveridge said. "It's not a lot of time."
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.