Reports: With $137K in the Bank, Eric Holds 3-to-1 Edge Over Kristen in SB Mayor's Race Fundraising; Devon-Monte's $50K D4 Duel

In a surprise, moderate council member Friedman substantially outraised liberal colleague Sneddon, according to the first round of campaign finance filings less than 100 days before the election.

City Council member Eric Friedman has quietly raised nearly $150,000 for his campaign to be Santa Barbara’s next mayor, giving him an early 3-to-1 fundraising advantage over chief rival Kristen Sneddon, campaign finance records show.

Besides Friedman’s big haul, the biggest surprise in the first round of city campaign spending reports, released this week, is the robust fundraising by both Planning Commissioner Devon Wardlow and retired tech executive Monte Wilson, each of whom is sitting on about $50,000 in the race to represent District 4 at City Hall.

Sneddon got off to a fast start in the mayor’s race late last year, when she was the first to declare her candidacy to succeed Randy Rowse in the job. Her fundraising has lagged behind Friedman’s, however — he entered the race about a month later.

With four of seven council seats on the Nov. 3 ballot, including the mayor’s post, Friday is the final deadline for candidates to register to run. Former SB Unified School Board member Wendy Sims-Moten is also expected to campaign for mayor.

As a policy matter, the Sneddon-Friedman matchup presents a sharp contrast on the biggest issues confronting City Hall in recent years: she strongly supports the contentious rent stabilization ordinance, which is slowly moving toward what looks like inevitable passage, while he has opposed it; she has been a leader in the move to keep seven blocks of the State Street “promenade” fully closed to traffic, while he has sided with Mayor Randy Rowse in urging a more flexible approach. Most recently, the two have clashed over who bears more responsibility for the city’s budget woes.

As a political matter, however, Friedman dominated the first round of campaign fundraising filings — which covered money raised between Jan. 1 and June 30 — supplying him with resources to communicate widely as the race moves into the crucial stretch when voters begin tuning in, less than 100 days before the election. It is a strategic hedge against the organizational advantage Sneddon holds because of her endorsement by the Democratic Party.

Campaign records show that:

• Friedman has raised $148,310 to date, with $136,944 cash on hand;

• Sneddon has raised $42,945, with $34,606 cash on hand.

The latter number is the key figure for political strategists at any point in a campaign.

In the weeds. About $11,000 of Friedman’s total was transferred from a campaign committee he had formed previously to raise money for a possible run for supervisor.

Another $9,000 came from construction trade unions — electricians, plumbers, pipe trades and sheet metal workers — perhaps in gratitude for his leadership in pushing through a Project Labor Agreement ordinance that guarantees union labor on large city public works projects.

Friedman, who is termed out of the District 5 council seat to which he was first elected in 2017, also received a total of $8,400 from Rowse and Mike Jordan, his two closest allies on council. Many of his contributions, Friedman said in an interview, came as the result of a large fundraising reception sponsored by Haley Conklin, who was married to the late Mayor Hal Conklin.

Most of Sneddon’s money came from modest contributions from friends, family and feminist leaders in the community. Her husband. county public works director Chris Sneddon, gave $2,000, with other notable contributions from journalist and retired nonprofit CEO Eileen White Read ($5,900); environmental advocate Lee Heller ($1,500); and $500 each from Supervisors Laura Capps and Roy Lee. She also received $500 from former Supervisor and feminist icon Susan Rose, and a combined $850 from three ex-mayors — Marty Blum, Helene Schneider and the late Sheila Lodge, who died last month.

The other races. In the District 4 contest, where four candidates are vying to replace the termed-out Sneddon, only Wardlow and Wilson have so far reported contributions. Corporate consultant Genevieve Taft-Vazquez, who only recently entered the race, reported raising no money so far, and there was no filing from former City Council member Jason Dominguez posted on the city website.

In other council races:

District 5. Ian Baucke, an aide to state Sen. Monique Limón, led other candidates in District 5, with $6,667 raised and $4,519 cash on hand. Film producer Cevin Cathell reported raising $1,850 and the same amount on hand. Financial services professional James Zurlinden reported making a $500 personal loan to his campaign.

District 6. SBUSD school board member Gabe Escobedo reported raising $3,750, with $2,376 cash on hand. Residential real estate agent Alexander Stoeber did not report raising money.

All of the campaign finance reports filed to date are on the city election website here.