The final round of pre-election campaign finance disclosure forms were turned in to Eureka City Hall late last week, and they showed incumbent City Council members Mike Newman and Chester “Chet” Albin had widened their fundraising leads over challengers Kim Bergel and Natalie Arroyo.

Also, there’s a lot more money fighting the so-called “Fair Wage Act” — Measure R, which would raise the minimum wage in the city to $12 per hour for businesses with 25 or more employees — than there is supporting it.

In the City Council contests, the money race for the Third Ward seat is rather lopsided, with Newman out-fundraising Bergel by roughly 60 percent. This lead can be at least partially attributed to his head start; Newman’s campaign brought in nearly $7,500 last year, well before Bergel announced her intention to run. But even in this latest fundraising period, which covers Oct. 1 through Oct. 18, Newman’s campaign out-raised Bergel’s by more than $1,300.

As of Oct. 18 Newman still had $7,707 left to spend compared to Bergel’s $5,259.

In the Fifth Ward race, Albin remains ahead of Arroyo, but the margin there is slimmer. In fact, Arroyo has raised about $2,500 more than Albin this year. But since Albin began 2014 with a war chest of $6,350, his total still exceeds that of Arroyo. Albin was appointed by Mayor Frank Jager to the Fifth Ward seat last December, replacing the ailing Lance Madsen.

The bad news for Arroyo is that her campaign money is nearly all spent. As of Oct. 18 she had a cash balance of just $838, while Albin still had more than $8,000 in the bank.

(Note: Money that comes in to the campaigns between Oct. 18 and Election Day won’t be reported until Feb. 2, 2015, long after the votes have been cast.)

Where’s all this money coming from? Well, the incumbents have gotten some notable support from fellow public-office-holders. Both Newman and Albin received $500 (the maximum allowable donation per calendar year) from the campaign fund of Eureka Mayor Frank Jager, who has the luxury of running for re-election unopposed. Newman also got a $500 check this cycle from Humboldt County Supervisor Virginia Bass’s campaign while Albin got $500 checks from the campaign accounts of both Supervisor Ryan Sundberg and Supervisor Rex Bohn.

Newman’s other $500 donors this cycle were Jill Kuoh and Thomas Kuoh (both from Oakland), the Humboldt Builder’s Exchange PAC, Eureka Readymix and Shaw & Petersen Insurance (Newman’s employer).

Albin’s other $500 donors this cycle were Jill Kuoh and Thomas Kuoh, Suzanne Franklin, Pacific Builders, Alliance Coast Management Group and Shaw & Petersen Insurance.

The challengers, meanwhile, garnered support from unions. Arroyo received $500 donations this cycle from the Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 District 40 PAC and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 57 PAC, plus $250 from the Building and Construction Trades Council of Humboldt-Del Norte Counties and $200 from the California United Home Workers (CUHW) Union Local 4034 PAC.

Bergel likewise garnered a $500 donation from the AFSCME Council 57 PAC and $200 from the CUHW Union Local 4034 PAC, plus $250 from the campaign of sitting Fourth Ward Eureka City Councilmember Melinda Ciarabellini, bringing Ciarabellini’s year-to-date contributions to Begel up to the $500 limit. Ciarabellini is also supporting Albin — a rare example of divided allegiance between incumbents and challengers.

Which brings us to Measure R, the “Fair Wage Act.”

The supporters, known as the Fair Wage Folks, raised another $1,150 this cycle, bringing their total to $5,768. That pales in comparison to the money raised by opponents, aka the Committee to Protect Eureka and Against Measure R, who brought in $6,219 this cycle alone, bringing their fundraising total to $19,528.

Prior to this latest cycle, all the money fighting Measure R had come in via donations of less than $100, making them exempt from disclosure requirements — this according to the “No on R” treasurer, John Fullerton, who explained, “Some can’t afford more but many others simply do not want to be harassed by the Occupy Eureka people and be called names in the blogs.”

Well, this cycle some brave souls went on the record, including Fred Sundquist, the president of City Ambulance of Eureka, who donated $2,000 to the campaign. Still, more than 85 percent of the money raised to fight Measure R is off the books.

Major supporters of the measure include unions, with the Building and Construction Trades Council chipping in $750 to date ($250 this cycle), plus $250 this cycle from the Operating Engineers Local 3 and $200 from the CUHW.

And lastly, the committee supporting Measure Q, which would add another five years of the half-percent “public safety” sales tax ushered in with 2011’s Measure O, brought in a whopping $13,165 this cycle, bringing their total to $23,614. There is no organized opposition to Measure Q.

Here are the dollar breakdowns:

THIRD WARD

Bergel:

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $12,887
  • Total raised this period: $4,204

Newman: 

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $21,407 (includes $7,450 raised last year)
  • Total raised this period: $5,536

FIFTH WARD

Albin:

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $19,257 (includes $6,350 raised last year)
  • Total raised this period: $6,789

Arroyo:

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $15,404
  • Total raised this period: $5,617

MEASURE R, THE FAIR WAGE ACT

The Fair Wage Folks (Yes on R)

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $5,768
  • Total raised this period: $1,150

The Committee to Protect Eureka and Against Measure R

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $19,528
  • Total raised this period: $6,219

MEASURE Q

The Yes on Q Committee

  • TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $23,614
  • Total raised this period: $13,165

Click the names in this sentence to see the 460 forms (pdf) from Bergel, Newman, Albin and Arroyo, plus those from the Fair Wage Folks, the Committee to Protect Eureka and Against Measure R, and the Yes On Q Committee. And don’t forget, for more information, visit the LoCO Elections Page.