San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is raising and spending far more money than the four candidates challenging his re-election, new campaign donation disclosures show.
In the battle to replace termed-out Mara Elliott as city attorney, Assemblymember Brian Maienschein has raised more than twice as much money as Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert.
In two City Council races also on the March 5 primary ballot, incumbents Sean Elo-Rivera and Stephen Whitburn are raising significantly more money than their challengers.
And in a fifth race, a special election to fill the council seat Monica Montgomery Steppe vacated when she was elected county supervisor in November, Henry Foster leads Chida Warren-Darby by a modest margin.
The new disclosures cover the last six months of 2023 and the first 20 days of this year. The next disclosures, which will cover Jan. 21 through Feb. 17, are due Feb. 22.
Gloria, running for a second four-year term, has raised $585,000 and spent more than $200,000 on polling, consultants, campaign software and other expenses. He has $347,000 left for the month leading up to the election and for a likely runoff.
Among his opponents, civil rights attorney Genevieve Jones-Wright leads the pack with $19,500 raised and $17,000 cash on hand. Police Officer Larry Turner has raised $11,000 and loaned himself $15,000.
Gloria’s other two opponents, Jane Glasson and Daniel Smiechowski, have not received significant campaign contributions.
In the two-way battle for city attorney, Maienschein has raised $184,000 and Ferbert has raised $77,000. Both candidates have spent roughly $25,000.
In central urban District 3, Whitburn has raised $139,000, far more than Kate Callen at $20,000, Coleen Cusack at $12,000 and Ellis California Jones at $2,000.
In south central District 9, Sean Elo-Rivera has raised $64,000, far more than Terry Hoskins at $15,000 and Fernando Garcia at $8,000.
In the special election for southeastern District 4, Foster — Montgomery Steppe’s chief of staff — leads Warren-Darby — an aide to Gloria — $15,000 to $9,000. A third candidate, Tylisa Suseberry, hasn’t raised any money.
The city’s 2024 election cycle was expected to include three more council races. But no one challenged incumbents Marni von Wilpert, Joe LaCava and Raul Campillo, so they will each serve additional four-year terms.
Many candidates are saving much of the money raised — instead of spending it before the primary — because San Diego’s city election rules require November runoffs among the top two finishers in each race even if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in March.
The lone exception is the race to fill Montgomery Steppe’s seat, because it’s a special election. If any of the candidates gets more than 50 percent in March, they will be declared the winner without a November runoff.
In the mayor’s race, the $347,000 Gloria has in his warchest is more than 20 times the $17,000 that Jones-Wright has. In the city attorney race, Maienschein has $155,000 in cash compared to $28,000 for Ferbert.
