Chris Coursey, Tom Schwedhelm top Santa Rosa City Council money race

Retired police chief Tom Schwedhelm loaned $25,000 to his campaign for Santa Rosa City Council recently, a cash infusion that made him the top money raiser over the crucial July-to-?September fundraising period.

Retired journalist Chris Coursey remains the leader in the fundraising race. Having started his campaign last year, he has brought in a total of $55,100 to date. But the rest of the pack has been coming on strong in recent months, led by Schwedhelm and his significant personal loan.

In addition to the $25,000 loan, Schwedhelm raised $19,552 from private donors, bringing his year-to-date fundraising total to $44,552, nearly all of it generated since July.

His big donations include $500 from Santa Rosa Mayor Scott Bartley, $500 from contractor Rich Blanchard and $500 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee.

Schwedhelm said he made a conscious decision to self-fund part of his campaign because he wanted to spend less time raising money and as much time as possible educating himself on key issues likely to face the council.

“I’m in this actually to make a difference on the City Council,” he said.

Schwedhelm also has pledged that he will donate his $800 monthly council stipend to charity if elected.

He acknowledges that such decisions are ones he can afford to make because he earned a good salary as police chief, $196,000 annually. His total compensation package in 2013, including payouts for sick leave and vacation and the value of all benefits, was $417,231, according to the city. In addition, Schwedhelm now receives an annual pension, before taxes and after various financial options, of $155,000 per year.

But he also notes that he lives modestly in his longtime home in northwest Santa Rosa and that he and his wife, Jackie, haven’t traveled extensively or purchased lots of “toys” for themselves.

“I’ve been preparing for retirement,” Schwedhelm said.

The next highest fundraiser in the period was John Sawyer. The jewelry store manager and former two-term city councilman raised $33,838, including a $3,000 loan to himself.

Major contributions include $500 from investor Larry Wassem, $500 from developer and longtime Board of Public Utilities Chairman Richard Dowd and $500 from Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Land-use attorney Ashle Crocker raised the next highest amount, $22,829, in the period, including a $5,000 loan to her campaign.

Her major donations include $500 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee; $500 each from her father and mother, Ron and Linda Crocker, principals in real estate firm The Crocker Company; and $500 from Sacramento developer Mark Freidman.

Coursey, a retired Press Democrat columnist, raised another $15,427 in the period, bringing his total to $55,094 to date, including a $2,500 loan. He’s the only competitive candidate not to abide by the city’s voluntary campaign spending limit of $49,428, citing the length of his campaign and his commitment to use mail instead of less expensive robocalls.

Former councilman Lee Pierce raised $15,395 during the period, most of it from another loan to himself. The latest one was for $10,000, bringing his total loans to $16,550 and total raised to $31,757.

“I’ve got to have some skin in the game,” said Pierce, government affairs manager for a local recycling company.

Donations included $500 from First American Recycling, $500 from Cold Creek Compost in Ukiah and $500 from Concerned Citizens of Santa Rosa.

Curtis Byrd raised $5,780 in the period, bringing his total to $20,024 to date, including $2,500 he loaned to himself. The blood bank spokesman’s top donations included $500 from Concerned Citizens for Santa Rosa, $500 from Coalition for a Better Sonoma County and $500 from Service Employees International Union Local 1021 PAC.

Part-time teacher Keith Rhinehart loaned himself $500 and raised one reportable donation during the period - $500 from Montgomery Village mall owner David Codding. Sebastopol resident Colleen Fernald and assembly line worker Chucker Sims did not file fundraising disclosures for the period.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.