By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

October 31 -- As the clock ticks down to Election Day, the money keeps piling up for two City Council candidates with a chance to topple the tenants’ group that has controlled City Hall for most of the past quarter century.

Through October 21, Mayor Bob Holbrook led all contenders for three open council seats with $87,041, followed by Planning Commissioner Terry O’Day, who had raised nearly $75,000, according to campaign finance statements filed with the City Clerk last week.

Both O’Day and Holbrook have continued their break-neck fundraising pace. Between October 1 and October 21, the two candidates endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce each picked up nearly $22,000 in individual contributions of $250 or less as mandated by local law.

They are spending big too, with each shelling out more than $19,000 in the first three weeks of October, bringing their total annual expenditures to more than $60,000 each as the November 7 election nears.

That’s tens of thousands more than their three Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights opponents -- incumbents Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor and lawyer, Gleam Davis.

And while the SMRR slate is counting on the tenants’ group money -- it raised $13,097 during the last reporting period, bringing the total raised to $116,204 -- Holbrook and O’Day can bank on the deep pockets of the Edward Thomas Management Company, which has pumped some $500,000 into the council race.

The owners of Hotel Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach donated $231,182 to Santa Monicans for Sensible Priorities (SMSP) during the first 20 days of the month, bringing the group’s total contributions to $394,318, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure statement.

During that period, the two-year-old non-profit group -- which became a political action committee in September -- spent $96,695 to campaign on behalf of Holbrook and O’Day, bringing the total spent by the group this year to $321,182, the statements show.

“It really is an issue of what is the cost of sending a message,” said Seth Jacobson, who is heading up SMSP’s campaign to oust SMRR.

Nearly $100,000 was also contributed by the Edward Thomas Management Company to bankroll a multi-media campaign opposing McKeown that includes cable television ads and hard-hitting mailers.

“This is the first time that Edward Thomas Company has ever gone negative,” Jacobson said. “We had a choice to either continue to get beaten over the head or we could respond and attack the candidate that has consistently attacked (our group) in a negative way.”

The campaign to oust the two-term council member focuses on McKeown’s votes opposing ordinances that crack down on outdoor programs that hand out free meals to the homeless and bar persons from the Palsisades Park bluffs. (see story)

“We believe his votes enable the issue,” Jacobson said.

SMRR officials dispute Jacobsons’ characterization that the group he represents have never campaigned negatively, citing literature in 2004 critical of the council as a whole.

“It’s just not credible,” said SMRR co-founder Denny Zane.

As of last week, SMSP still had $105,928 in their warchest, according to the campaign statement.

Holbrook had little more than $27,000 remaining, while O’Day had $3,656 in his coffers for his first council bid.

Meanwhile, the SMRR slate composed of McKeown, O’Connor and Davis continued their own fundraising efforts.

To help counter the hard-hitting campaign against him, McKeown raised $19,534 during the latest filing period, bringing the total raised to $31,458, which includes a $10,000 loan he made to his campaign, according to the statements.

McKeown noted that the $100,000 spent by the Edward Thomas Management Company in attack ads against him is “more than two and half times my budget for the entire election.”

O’Connor – who has been weathering attacks from some members of the renters’ group (see story) – raised $17,554 between October 1 and 20, according to campaign finance statements. O'Connor has spent most of her money, leaving the three-term incumbent with $2,167, as of October 20.

O’Connor’s opponents also have raised and spent money. The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, a group formed to oppose the Macerich Company’s original proposal to redevelop Santa Monica Place, spent more than $9,000 on a mailer opposing O'Connor, according to finance statements filed by the group.

Although nearly $27,000 in debt, Gleam Davis continued her fundraising sprint to the finish, raising $8,272 during the latest filing period. To date, including loans she made to her campaign, Davis has raised $39,262, statements show.

With such a wide disparity in fundraising between the candidates, SMRR’s own fundraising efforts and political machine may be the only thing standing in the way of O’Day and Holbrook wresting control of the council from the renters’ group.

With $13,097 raised in the last reporting period, and $116,204 total for the year, SMRR is using the money to blunt the attack ads and support its slate.

So far the group has spent $102,730 to elect its slate, with $29,168 spent between October 1 and October 21.

“We’re doing fine like we always do, “said Zane. “We’re a lean, low-cost group.

“The amount of money raised and spent (by SMSP) is astounding, and I think it’s not healthy,” he said.

As to Jacobson’s claims that SMRR is out of touch with residents’ views on growth, Zane said it is just the opposite.

“I think SMRR has a very reasonable attitude toward growth, reflective of the community in which we live,” he said. “If they were right, why do they feel the need to spend so much on convincing a community that shares their views.”

The other five candidates in the November 7 race also continued their fundraising efforts. Jenna Linnekins raised $615 during the latest filing period, boosting her total to nearly $5,000. Terrence Later has raised nearly $3,000 so far.

Mark McLellan, Jonathan Mann and Linda Armstrong did not file reports.