SALINAS — Less than a month until by-mail voting begins and less than two months from the Nov. 3 election, the District 4 supervisor race is approaching $1 million in combined campaign fundraising, almost twice more what was raised in the 2016 race.
Together, candidates Wendy Root Askew and Steve McShane have raised about $943,549 for their campaign war chests, according to the most recent campaign finance reports. District 4 runs from Del Rey Oaks in the southwest, up through Marina and east to include part of Salinas.
Askew, a longtime aide to incumbent Supervisor Jane Parker and a Monterey Peninsula Unified School District board member, and McShane, a Salinas city councilman and owner of McShane’s Landscape, are heading to a runoff in the Nov. 3 general election after finishing first and second, respectively in the March primary.
Askew beat out McShane in the primary by more than a 10% margin, garnering 8,710 votes or about 45.6% of the 19,122 votes cast compared to McShane’s 6,688 votes or about 35%.
Fellow candidates Wini Chambliss and Alex Miller split a little more than 3,700 more votes between them for nearly 20% of the vote and did not advance to the general election.
Meanwhile, McShane maintains a clear edge in fundraising thus far, amassing more than double Askew’s haul. Since last year, McShane has raked in about $633,900 while Askew has collected about $309,648.
The combined fundraising figure dwarfs the 2016 contest for the District 4 seat that pitted Parker against former Salinas mayor Dennis Donohue, which surpassed $500,000 in combined fundraising and was considered a shocking amount at the time.
Both candidates spoke with pride about their campaign contributions and what they said it meant about their support.
McShane said he was proud of the more than 2,000 donations his campaign has reported, noting that much of the giving has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Supporters have strongly signaled that someone from small business is needed on the county Board of Supervisors to address economic recovery,” he said. “I’ve announced a bold promise to reduce homelessness by 50% by 2024 and that has motivated grassroots support as well. COVID-19 is our biggest challenge and I’m ready to make sure people are safe and economic recovery is paramount.”
Askew said she remains focused on her work with the county to “address the health, safety and economic impacts of the pandemic and the fires,” but also said she’s pleased with the level of support from contributors.
“I am especially proud to have support from so many hardworking voters whose donations show that they value my honest and accountable leadership,” she said, noting that she just received the SEIU 521 endorsement, which represents the largest share of county employees.
McShane’s campaign account has benefitted from his Salinas Valley agricultural and development industry, and other business connections.
Top contributors this year include PG Bottle Shop executive officer James Bristol, who contributed $25,000, as well as $10,000 donations from the Associated Builders and Contractors Northern California Political Action Committee, the Western Electrical Contractors Association and Century Communities. Tanimura and Antle contributed $7,500 (including $2,500 in food for a campaign event) as did WCP Developers Inc.
Notable contributors include Donohue, District 2 Supervisor John Phillips, former District 4 supervisorial candidate Alex Miller (who endorsed McShane), Salinas city council candidate Mars Rocamora, Granite Rock CFO Steve Snodgrass, the Monterey County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the Monterey County Medical Society, Don Chapin, Nader Agha and David Drew, among others.
Askew’s campaign boasts many smaller contributors, including several who split their donations into multiple smaller dollar amounts.
Top contributors this year include her boss, Supervisor Parker, who has contributed $14,500 including a $10,000 loan, Constance Murray ($7,500), Julia Foster-Bates ($5,000), The Democratic Women of Monterey County ($5,000) and SEIU Local 2015 ($3,000), among others.
Other notable contributors include State Sen. Bill Monning, Parker chief of staff Kristi Markey, District 5 supervisorial aide Yuri Anderson, Marina city councilwomen Gail Morton and Lisa Berkley, Marina Coast Water District board members Tom Moore and Jan Shriner, county Planning Commissioner and former District 5 supervisorial chief of staff Kate Daniels, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District board member George Riley, former water board member Brenda Lewis, and water board candidate Amy Anderson and former District 2 supervisor candidate Ed Mitchell, among others.
Higher Level Of Care cannabis dispensary owner Sal Palma covered his bets by giving $1,000 each to both campaigns.
McShane said the combined fundraising total indicates a lot of interest in the District 4 election.
“We have been campaigning for over 20 months and I think the thousands of individual donations across both campaigns signal strong support for needed leadership at the county level,” he said. “I’ve spoken to hundreds of voters that are safely at home worried about their financial future, growing homelessness and distance education for their children. I think we’re going to see more engagement in this election over the next 60 days than we’ve seen in a decade.”
