ELECTION ‘12//CAMPAIGN FINANCE | The final pre-election finance reports for the East Bay’s Assembly District’s 18 and 20 follow a consistent trend: less money in Oakland and breathtaking spending in Hayward.
ASSEMBLY 18 Alameda Vice Mayor Rob Bonta goes into the final two weeks of the general election with more than three times the amount of cash on hand as Peralta Community College Trustee Abel Guillen.
Bonta reported $90,028 in cash remaining with $63,025 in contribution during the short pre-election filing window of Oct. 1 to Oct. 20. Guillen, however, reported just $27,819 in the bank following $32,584 in contributions, according to campaign finance reports.
Both campaign spent roughly the same amount this month—Bonta with $93,529, Guillen with $91,628.
Guillen’s financial disadvantage, a consistent problem throughout the campaign, is exacerbated recently by independent expenditure committees who have added nearly $100,000 in pro-Bonta mailers. One recent mailing paid by IECs featured a side-by-side comparison of Bonta’s support for community safety. While Bonta’s side features a long list, the other, under the heading of Guillen, shows a blank list.
ASSEMBLY 20 In these two Assembly races, following the money is easy. It’s all in the 20th Assembly District, covering Hayward and the Tri Cities.
Former Hayward Councilman Bill Quirk raked in $132,609 in contribution between Oct. 1 and Oct. 20, according to campaign finance reports, while spending $109,007 during the same period. Dr. Jennifer Ong reported just $60,812 in contributions, although she vastly outspent Quirk with $168,288 in expenditures.
When it comes to money in the bank, Quirk’s $138,822 in cash represents a significant lead over Ong’s reported $32,406. But, that comes nowhere near telling the story in this race when it comes to real dollars and cents.
An avalanche of money from independent expenditure committees continue to flow in favor of Ong. Primarily from special interests advocating limits on medical malpractice, Ong’s actually financial situation is far rosier than Quirk’s. In fact, after another flurry of mailers this week from IECs, Ong has been the beneficiary of almost 600,000 in special interest money since the start of her campaign.
Conversely, most expect the local Democratic Party to blunt some of the IEC’s support for Ong in the last 10 days. Quirk is the party’s preferred candidate over Ong, also a Democrat. In addition, Quirk is also fortifying his war chest. He reported a personal loan of $60,000 last week, according to campaign finance filings. Over the course of his entire campaign, Quirk has donated a total of $166,000 to his own campaign.
ebcitizen.com 
Bonta had 43.5k left in the bank after all his bills and debts are paid, and he's raked in $24,700 since the finance deadline. Guillen was almost 12.5k underwater after bills and debts are paid, and has only received $3900 in reportable contributions since then.
I don't have a dog in this race, but the numbers don't lie.
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Bonta's coffers have been enriched by the likes of Calpine.
Speaking of, didn't Quirk roll over on Calpine and voted for the approval of the power plant.
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We no longer vote for candidates. It is just a special interest money race. All political whores.
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