Big money continues to flow into four San Diego City Council races one week before the June 2 primary, including a major push by labor unions against independent Richard Bailey in District 2.
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The $100,000 labor effort aims to counter more than $400,000 Bailey has received from individual donors and a committee supported by local business, including the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In the same race, Democrat Josh Coyne continues to get strong financial support — more than $200,000 — from an independent committee led by Local 89 of the Laborers International Union of North America.
Another Democrat in the District 2 race, Nicole Crosby, is also getting labor support. The largest labor union for city workers, the Municipal Employees Association, has spent more than $50,000 on mailers supporting her and opposing Bailey.
That money is on top of nearly $100,000 amassed by a separate committee formed specifically to defeat Bailey, a former Republican who is seeking to join what is now an all-Democrat City Council.
Chief donors to the anti-Bailey committee are the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council and the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council.
Crosby is also getting support from the county Democratic Party, which endorsed her over Coyne and other Democrats in the seven-person race.
The big spending on San Diego council races this election cycle essentially mirrors what’s happening with Measure A, a proposed tax on empty second homes. Opponents have raised more than $1.3 million, while supporters have raised $228,000.
In other council races, Antonio Martinez is getting strong support in District 8 from labor, including an independent committee funded by $25,000 from the city’s firefighters union and $20,000 from a regional hotel workers union.
That money will help Martinez in the battle against fellow Democrat Gerardo Ramirez, who is getting help from an independent committee with $200,000 in funding and a broadening group of contributors.
Led by the Latino Caucus of California Counties, the committee supporting Ramirez recently got large donations from the city’s police officers labor union, the chamber of commerce and a union representing blue-collar city workers.
The committee sponsored by the Municipal Employees Association has also spent $38,000 to help Ramirez. In addition to Crosby and Ramirez, the MEA committee is also supporting incumbents Kent Lee in District 6 and Henry Foster in District 4.
Also in the District 8 race, a battle between four Democrats, Venus Molina is being supported by an independent committee sponsored by the Sycuan tribe, the YIMBY Democrats and the Singleton Schreiber law firm.
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That committee has raised $18,000. The fourth candidate, Rafael Perez, is receiving support — $6,200 — from an independent committee sponsored by the local guild of the American Federation of Teachers.
The new donation disclosures, filed just before the holiday weekend, cover a 28-day period from April 19 through May 16.
They show that many of the candidates and nearly all of the independent committees have prioritized mailers over other types of campaign efforts — flooding local mailboxes in recent days and weeks.
Bailey led all candidates citywide in direct campaign donations, raising nearly $30,000 during the period. Martha Abraham, who is challenging Foster in District 4, was second with just under $10,000.
Bailey appears in strong shape should he make the November runoff in District 2, with $142,000 in his campaign war chest.
Crosby has $16,000 and Coyne essentially nothing — he has $30,000 in cash on hand but a matching $30,000 in unpaid bills. But labor unions, the Democratic Party and other progressive groups are expected to coalesce behind a Democrat if Bailey makes the runoff.
Mandy Havlik, another District 2 candidate, has $5,700. None of the other candidates in that race — Paul Suppa, Michael Rickey and Jacob Mitchell — has more than $1,000.
In District 8, Martinez has $37,000, Perez has $20,000, Ramirez has $13,000 and Molina has $10,000.
In District 4, Foster has $69,000 and Abraham has just $3,600. Abraham spent more than $20,000 during the disclosure period, including a mailer she sent. A third candidate in District 4, Johnnie Lee Dang, has $124.
In District 6, Lee has $98,000 in his war chest, while his opponent Mark Powell — the only other candidate on the June 2 ballot — has $19,000.
The top two finishers in San Diego City Council primaries advance to November runoffs even if one candidate gets more than 50% of the votes in the primary.
District 2 includes Clairemont, Point Loma and some nearby neighborhoods. District 4 includes Skyline, Encanto and much of southeastern San Diego. District 6 includes University City, Mira Mesa and nearby areas. District 8 includes Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, Logan Heights and nearby neighborhoods.
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