In the most recent campaign finance filing period, from March 18 to May 19, the candidates for the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors 5th District continued to rake in the cash.
Tracy City Councilman Bob Elliott collected $32,482 in cash during the period. Rhodesia Ransom, who sits on the Tracy Planning Commission, drew $29,559.12 in cash contributions in the same time frame. Tom Benigno, a local farmer, reported zero donations.
For the calendar year, Elliott has received $62,652 in cash, and Ransom has received $40,366.62. When accounting for money and services, however, the candidates’ totals are much closer, with Elliott reporting $73,783.69 and Ransom reporting $79,639.65.
Elliott and Ransom have collected money from different sources.
According to documents filed with the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters, Ransom received $12,750 in cash from various labor-affiliated political action committees during the March-through-May period.
She also got $1,250 from the Central Valley Stonewall Democratic Club and smaller donations from numerous individuals. Many contributions flowed through Democracy Engine LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based software platform that can be used by organizations and individuals to raise funds in support of candidates, goals and initiatives, according to its website.
Elliott’s largest reported cash contribution was a self-contribution of $5,800. He also received $4,000 from Karnail Sandhu of Sandhu Farms and other donations from developers, businesses and landowners in the area.
Elliott spent $38,015.11 cash during the period, including more than $10,300 paid to Curry Graphics Inc., more than $12,000 for Web services from Om-nicient Productions and $18,900 to a consulting outfit named Strategic Research.
Of Ransom’s $29,737.13 cash spending during the period, notable expenditures were $9,000 to Freeman Public Affairs Inc., $4,100 to Gregory Boehm of San Francisco for consulting, $3,600 to Stars & Stripes Printing Inc. and $3,500 to Stenhouse Strategies Inc. for consulting work.
Ransom’s spending total for the period jumped to $79,301.36 when nonmonetary donations to her campaign were accounted for. Elliott’s spending total including those types of donations was $42,687.52 for the same time.
Unlikely campaign company
Elliott also kept unlikely campaign company in a flier that arrived in some local mailboxes in the past few weeks.
Elliott, who is running for the nonpartisan position of county supervisor but has participated in at least one event for Republican candidates this year, is listed on a slate encouraging voters to mark their ballots for three Democrats, President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Assembly candidate Susan Eggman.
A note on the mailer indicates a fee was paid for Elliott to participate in the flier, which was sent out by an organization calling itself Coalition for Literacy.
The information that birdman asked about...
What website did you find it. Could you reveal your sources?
You said "retirement".
The peripheral canal will not make a difference to the economy. It will not even get started. The voters do not want to sacrifice the environment for a 3 month contract job. Actually less, but we'll get there.
Not one truck driver will miss the peripheral canal jobs. Like I said, lots of people try driving a truck, every day.
Most of them give it up a few weeks later. Not because the peripheral canal is not being dug. That is just par for that industry.
No bubbles were burst in the writing of this comment, or the last one. Like I said, I applaud you for trying. I just think there are better ways to create jobs.
The canal is just one of the many ideas to help solve the the bad economy. I'm also working on the Port of Stockton program, and others.
I still haven't heard of one sound reason why the canal should not be built.
Let's start with a sound reason to build a peripheral canal.
Especially when we already have canals.
Any new canal should solve water issues.
If it does not, the answer is not, hey, let us build another canal.
In other words. If you start from an unsound premice.
How will you know when you are hearing a sound counter-argument?
And we haven't even addressed the environmental issues.
Who said that there had to be a retirement tied to getting a job and help putting a roof over your families head and food on the table.
Your mind set is what has caused the problem with our country, there are "NO" guarantees in this life.
As for truck drivers they as many others take work when they can get it!!! Soon all of America will be doing the same, sorry to break you bubble sir.
I applaud you for trying to think outside the box. But, your idea is flawed from the beginning. You cannot realistically build your retirement from a contract digging yourself a ditch. Contractors come and go. The reason you would have 10k truck drivers is largely due to high turnover among truck drivers.
Besides that, there are several hundred thousand people in San Joaquin County and multiply that by a dozen other counties competing for jobs. Thats putting only a fraction of Americans to work for short periods of time.
If someone wants to dig more holes and kiss the environment goodbye should we all jump in? No. In fact, there are better ways to create more than 10,000 jobs in California.
If they wanted water to flow they could have it. You could develop a water bypass system that would divert smelt fish to a collection pond.
My idea would create the jobs and revenue you imagined, without digging more holes across the state of Ca., and it would save both the economy and environment.
The canal will take 7 years to build in that time it will bring in 10 billion dollars of revenue to our county and 10,000 jobs. Lets look at the big picture,the money that it will bring to our economy will help thousands of families who now are in need.
In the decade that it is being built,we will see almost two decades of workers on the project. Those that will start the project and those that will retire during the life of the project.
As far as the guys pulling cars out of the other canals no one can project how long that will go on, as long as we have junk cars.
There is no such thing as a permanent these days!!!
The way you speak, I am stunned that you didn't get more votes.
You will support ANY program that brings temporary jobs even if that program is bad? Please clarify Tom.
The last time I saw somebody working on a canal it was a public service personnel (first reaponder) who is already employed by a local municipality. They were pulling something out of the canal. We already pay them to do that job.
I'm sorry to say this but a canal will not create permanent jobs.
I will continue to support any program that will give people jobs, that is what I as a political figure, elected or not should be doing.
I hope I can get other people involved in the process. Thanks for the question RHCP.
I think everyone running should be on the same playing field. They each ( from every party) should have a maximum amount of money to run with and they had better use it wisely. With the internet nowadays you don't need to spend as much. Make them all campaign with $5 mil max. Heck make it $1 mil. I want to hear what ALL the candidates have to say. Not just the ones who have/raise the most money.
OR no would believes in your campaign and would contribute funds to support anyway.
Ok, but then where is your endorsement list?
I couldn't let your comments go by without a response. As for no one believing in my campaign, there was about 3,100 voters who voted for me. I didn't ask for a dime from them. The cost of my campaign votes was about 50 cents per vote.
My opponents vote cost was about $25.00 per vote, just in the primary.
As far as the endorsement list I have 3,100 on my list!!
I just thought I would respond Hawk.
There are more than 3000 to 4000 people in San Joaquin County. It would not surprise me if a few thousand people supported a peripheral canal. But the more pertinent question (now, after the runnoff) is who do they support now. If neither of the remaining candidates support the peripheral canal, how will you direct those voters?
I hope you voters are getting the message regarding my not accepting campaign donations or endorsements. Just read the trash that a few are putting out there regarding who collected the most money. Along with the T Press comments, no one ownes me!!! Big money does not make the best candidate. Read www.benigno2012.
As we saw in Tracy with Measure E, the unions run the show when their candidates get elected. They can depend on Ms Ransom to do their bidding if she is elected.
That means taxpayers get raked over the coals.
Did you know that Ms Ransom is also a Democratic activist? http://emergeca.org/content/rhodesia-ransom
"Rhodesia traveled to Colorado and worked with the Obama campaign as Deputy Field Organizer "
This is how Democratic politics work on every level, top to bottom. Local Democrats work for the Obama campaign. Local Democrats get backing from unions, Unions get money funneled to them via Democratic legislation. Unions funnel money back to the Democratic candidates.
TIME TO BREAK THE CYCLE IN TRACY !!!
These are Men and Women who serve our communities to ensure a safe environment for our families.
Elliot is supported by Farmers and Land Developers. the very people who put the majority of us in financial binds with the inflated building costs, and home prices that have crippled our economy.
Those of you who are concerned with Political affilliation need only look to Bob elliot and his alliance with all the people who have passed Measure E, and if we continue to allow OLD tracy politics to prevail, we will never get out of this slump we are in today.