Campaign Financing reports for 2011 Mayoral hopefuls started coming in to the city's Ethics Commission yesterday, meaning we get an early look at who has how much money behind their campaign. According to the Examiner, City Attorney Dennis Herrera had nearly $266,000 in the bank by the end of 2010, although he got a head start by kicking off his run way back in August. Senator Leland Yee and Venture Capitalist Joanna Rees are around a hundred grand behind at $170k and $154k respectively. Meanwhile, former District 8 Supervisor and proud father Bevan Dufty is sandbagging a bit with a mere $108,305.
If we might play with some fuzzy numbers for a minute: Assuming all those donors are as generous as they are legally allowed to be and donated the maximum 500 bucks apiece, that means Herrera has a whole 531 supporters in his camp. (Plus everyone those 531 people can buy, obviously.)
For comparison, Newsom spent $5.1 million to beat out Matt Gonzalez in 2003, but he needed significantly less in 2007 when the competition didn't look so tough. He only spent $1.5 million in that campaign. Of course, there are plenty of potential candidates dragging their feet including: Board President David Chiu, D2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier and the sole lefty Ross Mirkarimi who is "very seriously" considering a run at the Mayor's office.
Finally, the Examiner reminds us that this will be the first mayoral election in which candidates will receive public financing. Assuming a field of eight candidates, each would receive 800,000 in public dollars, with the opportunity at another $100,000 if spending limits are lifted.
