Williams outraises Jordan by more than $100k
Dems pack war chests in Santa Barbara Assembly race
With four months left before the June Democratic primary, California State Assembly candidate Das Williams leads rival Susan Jordan in fundraising by about $100,000, in the high stakes battle for the 35th District Assembly seat.
Williams has raised $331,000 and Jordan has about $225,000 in campaign donations.
Both Williams and Jordan are looking to replace Pedro Nava, who must step down because of term limits.
If Jordan wins office, the 35th District assembly seat would stay in the family; Jordan is married to Nava.
Williams attempted to portray his fundraising advantage as illustrative of his viability as a candidate.
“What this shows is that the grassroots rebellion against the leadership in Sacramento has been successful,” Williams said. “This campaign is about changing the direction of the leadership in Sacramento and I am the person to make that change.”
Jordan, however, had a different analysis of the numbers.
Jordan has said that Williams is a well-oiled, professional fundraiser, who has an established fundraising base because he is an elected official.
“People are very tired of the money in politics,” Jordan said. “If it’s all about the money, then maybe we should just hand the keys to the governor’s office to Meg Whitman.”
Williams and Jordan are locked in a fierce battle to win state office at a time when California is roiling from a 12 percent unemployment rate, cuts to education and health care, and an overall dismal economic outlook for 2010.
Jordan, an environmentalist who is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit California Coastal Protection Network said she is the more authentic candidate.
Instead of spending all of her time making phone calls to raise money, Jordan said she has been up and down the state trying to meet people and focus on the state’s economic problems.
“I am quite pleased that as a first-time candidate I have been able to raise this much money,” Jordan said. “My opponent has much more experience raising money and running for office than I do.”
Williams, an environmental activist and a member of the Santa Barbara City Council, said he is looking to breathe new life into Sacramento and return focus to the residents.
The 35-year-old Williams, who grew up poor in Isla Vista and who lived in his car for several months when he was a teenager, has sought to paint Jordan as an extension of her husband Nava.
Williams also said that even though Jordan is downplaying her fundraising totals, she was singing a different tune a few months ago.
Back then Jordan and Nava were telling people in Sacramento that they would easily raise more money than Williams and therefore they should support Jordan’s candidacy.
While fundraising totals are not the be-all, end-all of assembly races, they are good indicators of a candidate’s viability. In close partisan races, sizable fundraising advantages can make a difference in determining the outcome of the race.
“Eight months ago no one would have been betting that Das Williams would hold such a sizable advantage over Susan Jordan,” said Jeremy Lindaman, Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider’s political adviser, who has worked with Williams on previous campaigns, but is not part of his assembly campaign staff.
“That Das Williams can out-raise the wife of the sitting assemblyman, who basically enjoys the status of incumbency, shows a real shift in the dynamic of the race.”
Williams has about $288,100 ready to spend on the campaign. Money is typically spent on staff, commercials, mailers, and other political advertisements aimed at reaching voters.
Williams’ financial reports, filed Monday with the California Secretary of State’s office, details more than 600 donors. More than two-thirds of his donors live within the 35th Assembly District and many of his donors gave in amounts of $500 or less.
Williams received nearly $20,000 in donations from the Sperling family, $3,800 from Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union #5 in Azusa, $2,000 from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, and $3,900 from Realtor and Attorney John Thyne.
Jordan filed her statements late Monday night. She has about $185,000 in the bank. Some of Jordan’s largest contributions include $3,900 from publisher Sara Miller McCune, $2,500 from actress Julia Louis Dreyfus, $3,000 from the Friends of Fabian Nunez, the former assembly speaker, $1,400 from former county supervisor Susan Rose, and even $500 from her husband Nava.
The winner of the Democratic primary must take on Republican Mike Stoker in November. Stoker, a former Santa Barbara County supervisor believes he will prevail over either Jordan or Williams.
“At the end of the day, the voters are going to vote for the future of California,” Stoker said. “Das Williams and Susan Jordan stand for the very same ideology of the very liberal Democrats in Sacramento who got us into this mess. “ Voters do not want the kinds of things that Das Williams or the Pedro Navas or the Susan Jordans stand up for or believe. The voter sentiment favors candidates like me who are fiscally conservative.”
Comment on this article
Susan is NOT your typical Democrat : 2/2/2010
She is quite moderate, sensible, and environmentally minded. How can Williams even be in this with a straight face? He's a career politician. He's totally in a panic - if he doesn't win this, there's no other office to run for in the foreseeable future. He's already taken a run at the BOS and failed miserably. Jordan is reasonable, listens to both sides of an issue, and makes intelligent decisions. Her positions are solid. I could never bring myself to vote for Das. And what incumbent position does she enjoy, exactly? She'll have to prove her merit just like the other candidates. Marriage does not confer transfer of office. The Daily Sound needs a way better political reporter than Molina.
Moderate SB Dem
SB Moderate : 2/2/2010
Pedro Nava is her husband and she will be replacing him...that is the incumbent position. Take a moment and notice the people who gave him money and now the people giving her money. Have you looked at Mr Nava facebook page? The only think he talks about is Das Williams attacking him every week, tying to build support for his wife Susan. This is not the kind of politics that belong on the Central Coast, this is not LA! I want someone who will represent our values, someone who will talk to everyone and make the best descion for our community as a whole, not just their family, and that is the canidate I will vote for. Mike Stroker is a big hitter remember when he ran for congress. We need the best Dem fighting for the seat and that is DAS WILLAIMS!
Serious about the Cental Coast
Jordan has no support : 2/2/2010
No matter how much spin she tries to put on it - susan jordan's finances show she has no support. She is anything but moderate and sensible. she is a divisive grandstander who will grab onto whatever position or issue will get her the most headlines. That is clear as day to people and her lack of support from the community shows it.
You just summed up Williams : 2/2/2010
There is no more divisive grandstander than Das Williams who entered the race by saying he supported the PXP project he previously had no opinion over. Look at Das Williams' donors and you will see HBJ's donors. How much Indian money? HBJ's now become a paid oil company lobbyist to support her boy. By any measure, Jordan's fundraising numbers are good. But she's running against two people, not one. Stoker can't wait to attack Williams' uber lefty record.
sick of professional politicians and their antics
: 2/2/2010
Please write more about how Das Williams can beat Mike Stoker. I'm sure your nose still can grow some more and double in length.
Pinocchio 2010
The numbers don't lie.... : 2/2/2010
"Jordan has said that Williams is a well-oiled, professional fundraiser, who has an established fundraising base because he is an elected official." Funny, I don't remember her saying that about Nava when he was running. I'm also guessing she isn't going to throw that mud at her husband when he runs for his next elected office.
They can spin it any way they want, but Das received significantly more contributions and most of those donations appear to be in the form of small donations ($500 or less). I guess Nava's coattails haven't been all that Susan was hoping for.
Call Das a grandstander if you want but it seems he typically is "grandstanding" on the side of the issue that most of his constituents agree with (PXP Project, Measure B, etc.)
Lightweight candidate : 2/2/2010
What has the guy really done besides run for office 4 times in 6 years or help other people run for office or lose ballot measures in Ventura? Business experience? Anything?
sick of professional politicians and their antics
quid pro quo : 2/2/2010
That's $20,000 from the pro-pot Sperling Family, while Das pushes for pot dispensaries all over town. The special interests know Das will do their bidding in Sac-town just as he does it in SB, and that's why they invest in him--they get their money's worth. And that's a shame. And a story that we'll never see written here.
Wrong : 2/2/2010
The "Yoko" syndrome!!!! Sick up it !
Pawn
not happy... : 2/2/2010
Das William's biggest support is the Chumash and lawyers...just what we need as representing us in the Assembly.
I wonder if he can beat Mrs Nava? I can't stand when they don't have the same name, so damn pretentious, just like the big money that supports her. Stoker will need to connect with the people. He better get out there and start knocking on some doors! May the best man (or wife) win...
Boycott Boy
Drunk Driving Gamblers for Das! : 2/2/2010
Go Das!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pot smokers and tokers for Das! : 2/2/2010
Go Das!
Retire the debt for Grant? or for Das : 2/3/2010
check out Grant House's statement on the City web, then Das' on the States. timing of when Grant was soliciting "retire the debt" donations and when he was giving $3900 to Das. among other curious donations.
always worth looking at the fine print
Make a change : 2/3/2010
Why would Susan Jordan travel "up and down the state" in the race for the 35th District? Is she getting her campaign confused with her husband Pedro Nava's campaign for Attorney General? Or maybe its because she's obsessively focused with trying to round up all the state environmental organizations against the PXP project through misinformation and personal attacks? Either way, the quote reflects that if elected she, like Nava, would be more focused on increasing her power and visibility in Sacramento (in the hope of moving on to bigger and better things, like being AG) than on serving the needs of local constituents.
a representative, not a politician : 2/3/2010
Jordan is a strong candidate, an environmentalist with business experience. Williams is a career (wouldbe) politician, who has worked for H-B Jackson, run campaigns and is on the city council where he has been and is extremely divisive. No way do we in this district need such a candidate who would only be a representative of himself. And Lindaman? What makes a political flack a creditable source? As for the money, Williams shoves payment envelopes onto everyone he sees, except (maybe?) the beggars visible everywhere in SB. Williams made Wolf a stronger candidate against Secord --- he'll do the same for Jordan.
sick of me, me, me
Give the money to ME : 2/4/2010
Das was distributing donations envelopes for himself at a memorial service.
tacky tacky tacky
Go Das! : 2/7/2010
“That Das Williams can out-raise the wife of the sitting assemblyman, who basically enjoys the status of incumbency, shows a real shift in the dynamic of the race.”
You can say that again. Nava and Jordan are not bad people, but they are a husband-and-wife career politician team at the state level...where ethically compromised Sacramento pols and corporate lobbyists with business before the state are eager to buy access with campaign cash. That Williams can beat this couple at their own money-machine game without access to such funds is remarkable. It emphasizes that Williams is an fresh-thinking individual with strong LOCAL grass-roots support.
If Jordan wins the nomination, I'll shrug and mark the box for her; I'm sure her intentions are good. But if Williams wins it, it will be one of those rare occasions, like voting for Obama, where I cast my vote with real joy.
sb local
Williams is the career politician : 2/8/2010
He's done nothing but run for office and help other people run for office. Nava's only served in elected office 5 years out of 60-plus. Jordan is not a politician at all. She's a businesswoman and activist. Look at who in town is contributing to the Williams campaign and you will see favors owed.
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