ELECTIONS / COUNTYWIDE : Costs May Soar in Some Hot Races

Maria VanderKolk spent a mere $11,789 in her 1990 upset victory over former Ventura County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer.

The same year, Vicky Howard spent $104,109 to defeat Simi Valley Councilman Bill Davis in one of the costliest races ever for a county supervisor’s post. Davis doled out $108,153.

How much a candidate for a countywide race can expect to spend on a campaign depends largely on how many people are in the race, whether there’s a runoff, how long it’s been since the last contested election and how aggressive a candidate wants to be, officials said.

In any case, candidates competing in hotly contested countywide races this year are more likely to need upward of $100,000 to mount a serious campaign, said Bruce Bradley, the county’s chief election official.

“I don’t think there are anymore Maria VanderKolks out there,” Bradley said. “I don’t think you can do that for a countywide office anymore.”

Bradley said candidates should keep in mind that they are also competing for campaign funds. He noted that a county supervisor’s position is a nonpartisan one, which means a candidate cannot depend on his or her political party for help.

Just the filing fee to run for a county office is between $600 and $1,200, depending on the office. A candidate’s ballot statement, which is optional, runs about $3,000. And lists of registered and absentee voters can run from several hundred dollars to several thousand.

But the biggest campaign expense is reaching voters through mass mailings as well as radio, television and newspaper ads. Bradley said by far the most popular and costly way of reaching voters is through the mail.

For instance, the cost of sending out one campaign mailer in the 2nd Supervisorial District, where there are 72,000 registered voters, can be as much as $20,000. To reach all 345,000 registered voters in the county would cost about $50,000.

“And that’s just postage,” Bradley said. “That’s not counting printing, signs or other advertisements.”

Races expected to be among the more expensive this year are the 2nd and 4th districts’ supervisorial races and the county auditor-controller’s race, which has not been contested in 20 years.

So far, only Thousand Oaks Councilman Frank Schillo and taxpayer advocate H. Jere Robings have formally declared their candidacy for the 2nd District now held by VanderKolk, who will not seek reelection. Her district represents the Conejo Valley and Port Hueneme.

*

But former Ventura County Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer, former state Assembly candidate Alan Guggenheim, county Corrections Officer David Goodman and Oak Park resident Alan H. Knapp have all taken out nomination papers and are considering entering the race. Also, two Conejo Valley residents have launched a campaign to draft former Ventura County Supervisor Ed Jones as a candidate.

Should one or two others decide to compete in the June 7 election, it would probably force a runoff in November.

“If I were a candidate in the 2nd District, I would be budgeting for two races,” Bradley said.

Robings, who recently loaned his campaign $10,000 of his own money, agreed that it could get expensive.

“I think it will cost about $50,000” to campaign for the June election, Robings said, “and probably $100,000 if there is a runoff.”

Schillo said it is too early to estimate how much he will need to raise, but added that he is confident he could collect $100,000 if necessary.

Schaefer, who spent $46,463 in 1990 against VanderKolk, declined comment on her campaign strategy, except to say “money’s important, but it’s not everything.” She said she will probably have a statement in the next week or two regarding her candidacy.

Guggenheim said he expects to spend about $100,000 if he enters the race. The Newbury Park resident spent about $120,000, including $40,000 of his own money, in his unsuccessful bid for state Assembly in 1992.

“Everything is expensive these days,” he said. “But if you want to get your message out and you want people to know who you are and vote intelligently, then you have to spend the money.”

*

Guggenheim, an international business consultant, said he would be willing to loan money to his own supervisorial campaign but would not say how much.

“I don’t like doing that,” he said. “But then people don’t like special interest groups to contribute to you either. It’s a Catch-22.”

How costly the race for the 4th District supervisorial post, which covers the areas in and around Simi Valley and Moorpark, will also depend on the number of candidates and whether there’s a runoff.

So far, only Simi Valley Councilwoman Barbara Williamson has formally announced that she will challenge incumbent Vicky Howard. But Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery is also considering joining the race.

Williamson said she believes Montgomery will enter the race and has already factored his candidacy into her campaign budget.

“I’ve set a ballpark figure of between $80,000 and $100,000 from January to November,” she said.

“That’s the cost of doing business.”

So far, Williamson said, she has raised more than $7,000, “but money is coming in every day.” She said she has already spent $780 on signs and plans to distribute at least four mailers in Simi Valley and across the district at an estimated cost of about $7,000 a piece.

Howard, who has $18,000 in her campaign war chest, declined to comment on her plans.

“I’m not making any statement on my campaign until the earthquake emergency is over,” said Howard, who loaned her campaign about $30,000 in personal funds during the 1990 election.

The auditor-controller’s race is expected to be another expensive campaign.

Among the candidates are appointed Auditor-Controller Thomas O. Mahon, Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton and Ventura accountant Scott Weiss.

*

Stratton has said he is prepared to raise as much as $100,000 to run for the office, and Mahon said he will match that if necessary. Weiss has declined to comment on how much he would be able to raise.

Besides facing a possible runoff, Stratton and Mahon said the reason the controller’s race could be so costly is that the seat has not been contested since 1974. Not to mention, they said, that there are about 345,000 registered voters in the county.

“A lot of people don’t even know what the controller does,” said Stratton, who had collected $1,600 in contributions as of Dec. 31. He has, however, another $2,256 left over from his mayoral campaign that could be used in the controller’s race.

Mahon reported $4,000 in contributions by the end of the year. Weiss did not file a financial statement.

“I don’t want to speculate on how much I can raise,” Weiss said. “But my campaign and fund-raising efforts will depend largely on individuals and not special interest groups.”

A county ordinance drafted by VanderKolk and approved by the Board of Supervisors in 1991 will limit the amount of money that candidates for county offices can receive from individuals and special interest groups.

The ordinance prohibits candidates from receiving more than $1,000 from an individual or business over a four-year election period and $2,400 from a political committee.

*

The total limit is split between the primary and general elections. Candidates can receive up to $750 from individuals and businesses for a primary election and $250 for a general election, and up to $1,800 from a committee for a primary election and $600 for a general election.

In addition to the five county supervisors, the measure also applies to other elected county offices.

VanderKolk said she drafted the county law because she believed “special interest groups should not heavily influence who is in office.” She said she wished that the measure could have gone further.

“I think to spend $100,000 on a supervisor’s race is ridiculous, but unfortunately when you have a lot of candidates in a race and there are a lot of brochures going back and forth that’s going to happen,” VanderKolk said. “I would just ask the voters to be aware of what’s going on.”