STEVE MALONE/NEWS-PRESS Aided by son Giuseppe, 13, Sherriff's Lt. Ugo "Butch" Arnoldi removes his campaign sign from a hill in Lompoc. Campaigns: More than just election is at stake After the election, candidates measure the costs 3/11/02 By NORA K. WALLACE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER A decade ago, Robert Geis was elected Santa Barbara County's auditor-controller. But with that success came a $9,000 debt he's carried around ever since, even through subsequent elections when he ran unopposed. His story isn't that unusual for people who take the enormous step of running for public office. As the campaign finance reform debate rages around the nation, the focus is largely on controlling the tens of millions of dollars funneling into federal elections. For candidates on a smaller scale, it is sometimes only a few hundred or thousand dollars that can make or break a campaign -- or a personal bank account. "For countywide offices, it's really demanding," Mr. Geis said. "And it's financially very expensive for you personally. The candidate who loses will probably never be able to raise funds to recover his debt." That's why he still has a $9,000 debt. Second District supervisorial candidate Michael Magne, who failed in his bid last Tuesday to unseat incumbent Susan Rose, sat down with his wife Kelly before even considering an electoral bid. They laid out all their finances, and figured out just how much they were willing to spend of their personal savings in the effort. They decided upon about $20,000. It wasn't enough to win. Sheriff's Lt. Ugo "Butch" Arnoldi failed in his effort to become the county's next sheriff, having shelled out $2,500 of his own money. "It was a wise investment," he said, despite the loss, because it was a worthwhile experience. Others also went into debt for their political aspirations. County clerk-recorder candidate Joe Holland, who won, noted on financial forms that he loaned his campaign $20,000 of his $47,000 war chest, in a report filed shortly before the election. According to early reports, Eric Sonquist, running for treasurer-tax collector, got a $10,000 loan from his campaign treasurer and $5,000 from himself. His race is too close to call until all absentee ballots are tallied on Tuesday. When it came to money, Mr. Magne, whose family owns Jensen Audio Visual, said he listened to advice from former county Supervisor Bob Kallman. "He said, 'Don't spend money you don't have,'" Mr. Magne recalled. "A lot of people will tell you, 'Money's coming in.' A lot of time it doesn't. We loaned the campaign money we were willing to not ever be paid back. We looked at how much we were willing to invest and risk in this." Unsuccessful 5th District supervisorial candidate Jeanne Sparks figured she only raised about $20,000 for her race, about one-third the amount of her opponent, Joe Centeno. She loaned her campaign less than $1,000 of her own money. "People kept telling me to be careful of putting money in there, you may never get it back," she said Friday. "This isn't about me spending my life savings to get into office, it's about getting the issues out and gaining the support. If I get the support, I can run a more effective campaign. If I can't, it probably wasn't meant to be." Lt. Arnoldi decided early on to self-finance his campaign because he doesn't believe in fund raising. Besides lawn signs and mailers, he said one of his largest costs was $2,000 in filing fees. "How can a normal citizen afford to run for countywide office with that kind of fee," asked Lt. Arnoldi, who plans to run again in four years. But he and his family decided not spend more than $2,500 of their own money, and he's hoping some of the donations he did receive will help repay that loss. It's difficult to convince people to help finance a campaign for a job such as his, Mr. Geis said. Donating to supervisorial candidates, he said, seems to make more sense to people. In his first primary race, Mr. Geis spent $36,000. For the general election, he shelled out $18,000. He's run unopposed ever since. "There's not a lot of reasons people want to give money to candidates for just good government," he said. Many candidates took what are called "in-kind" donations. For instance, Mr. Magne used copy machines and phone lines from his business, and 5th District supervisorial candidate William Wagener accepted about $12,000 worth of campaign signs and other goods from his wife, as an in-kind donation. Ms. Sparks, though she held three fund-raisers, also relied heavily on non-monetary help, such as tireless volunteers who coordinated precinct walks, made calls and stuffed envelopes. She couldn't have paid for that. "Ninety-nine percent of my effort was volunteer work," said Ms. Sparks, who hasn't yet decided whether she'll run for office again. Despite having three children in college, Bernice James opted to use her savings in an effort to become treasurer-tax collector. "It's a little frightening," she said of the $17,500 she took from her account, though she's hoping to recoup some of it. She also took hundreds of vacation hours to do campaign work. On top of the financial concerns, Ms. James may be out of a job if her opponent, Mr. Sonquist, wins. He has said he will not rehire her as assistant county treasurer. "If someone talked to me about it, I would tell them, 'Expect to spend your own money, put a lot of time in,'" she said. Get printer-friendly version