The controversial independent campaign committee backing Das Williams kept stockpiling money this week, despite the First District supervisor’s mild rebuke of its attacks on rival Laura Capps, as total fundraising in their contentious race climbed past $1.1 million.
“Central Coast Residents Supporting Das Williams for Supervisor,” the independent expenditure committee organized by three prominent campaign consultants who are political allies of Williams, collected an additional $22,000 in recent days, bringing its total contributions to $68,600, new campaign finance reports show.
Among the new money is a $15,000 donation from the Santa Barbara County Firefighters political action committee and $2,000 from influential landlord and developer Ed St. George.
Overall, the First District race has now generated at least $1.1 million in contributions, with Williams outspending Capps nearly 2-to-1, as he has benefitted from the $250,000 advantage with which he began in his campaign treasury before she declared her candidacy last summer.
The independent committee, in radio ads and mailers, has repeatedly attacked Capps, who has complained that it is a disingenuous conduit to help Williams funnel cannabis industry and other special interest money into the contest while he claims to run a positive campaign.
The committee has more than $55,000 cash on hand to use in the last 10 days before the March 3 election. The next campaign finance filings are not due until July.
Since Newsmakers first reported on who was behind the committee, it has become a flashpoint in the increasingly contentious campaign. You can read all about here, here and here.
Here are details from the new reports, through Feb. 15.
Das Williams.
Total contributions $647,710
Total expenditures 519,966
Cash on hand 185,945
Key contribution: $15,000 from Peter Sperling, a longtime Das political supporter and advocate for marijuana legalization.
Laura Capps.
Total contributions $385,903
Total expenditures 280,175
Cash on hand 138,562
Key contribution: $10,000 from Sara Miller McCune, bringing the total given Laura by the philanthropist and book publisher for the campaign to $30,000.
Central Coast Residents Supporting Das Williams for Supervisor.
Total contributions $68,600
Total expenditures 11,000
Cash on hand 57,600
Key contribution: $15,000 from the county firefighters PAC, whose labor contract is voted on by the board of supervisors.
JR
Images: It's all about the Benjamins (wave3.com); Who benefits? (activistpost.com).
Comments