Santa Rosa District 4 candidates rake in contributions, outside spending

The four-way council race headlined by incumbent Victoria Fleming and challenger Terry Sanders for Santa Rosa’s District 4 seat is entering its final days with outside spending and new campaign contributions fueling a last-gasp sprint to target undecided voters.

Front-runners Fleming and Sanders are knocking on doors, sending mailers and reaching out to voters online in a push to build momentum around their campaigns ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8.

The hotly contested race also features small business owner Henry Huang and Scheherazade “Shari” Shamsavari, a retired health and education professional.

The four-way competition has drawn in more money than other city races across the county this election cycle and is shaping up to be one of the most expensive for a council seat in recent years.

Sanders edged Fleming in campaign contributions, with nearly $22,000 in the latest reporting period, compared to more than $19,000 for Fleming, campaign finance records show.

Together, they’ve amassed more than $122,000 to date, in a nearly equal split that includes personal loans to their campaigns.

Independent spending in favor of Fleming by labor groups and by public safety interests in support of Sanders has amounted to an additional $65,000 on mailers, digital advertisements and on-the-ground canvassing.

Political observers say the District 4 contest could decide the balance of power on the seven-member City Council with Fleming being part of a more progressive majority that has held power in recent years and Sanders aligning with more moderate-to-conservative interests.

Huang and Shamsavari have run lower-profile campaigns and are mostly self-financed.

The northeastern district includes Fountaingrove, Hidden Valley, the Santa Rosa Junior College and McDonald Avenue neighborhoods. The district is home to 25,296 residents, according to the 2020 Census.

The mounting contributions from individual donors and outside groups is indicative of the importance of the race for Santa Rosa’s future, Fleming said.

“This is a really competitive race, and it holds the balance of the council,” she said. “It’s all hands on deck when you’re fighting for the future of Santa Rosa.”

Sanders agreed that people are paying attention. The spike in money shows voters are looking for a change, he said.

“The money pouring into the race and the effort to control this seat is indicative that maybe the leadership we’ve had the last four years hasn’t been very representative,” he said.

Two-way rivalry in four-person field

Fleming and Sanders have split endorsements and financial support along familiar political lines.

Fleming has the backing of elected officials at the local, state and federal level, plus more than a dozen environmental and labor groups in her corner, including the Sierra Club and North Bay Labor Council, in addition to a long list of residents.

In the latest funding haul, Fleming’s campaign raised just under $19,400 from 85 contributions between Sept. 25 and Oct. 22, the last day of the preelection reporting period, and she spent about $24,872. She had $11,558 on hand going into the general election.

To date, Fleming has raised $61,171 and spent $43,422, according to her latest campaign finance report filed Oct. 27.

Fleming’s campaign has seen a boost from independent spending by the political arm of the Teamsters Local 665.

Working People for Victoria Fleming for Santa Rosa City Council has raised $48,700 from contributions from the North Bay Labor Council and other labor groups and spent more than $44,000 on literature, digital banner ads and canvassing.

Sanders’ campaign brought in $21,998 from 71 contributions and spent $24,364 in the latest reporting period.

He’s raised about $61,300 since the start of the election cycle and spent $47,065. He had $14,245 going into the next reporting period.

Sanders has been endorsed by the Santa Rosa firefighters union, the Santa Rosa Police Officers Association and the Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. He’s also garnered support from the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Sonoma County Alliance and other North Bay business groups.

Many of those groups have funded an independent expenditure committee in support of the retired Oakland firefighter.

The Committee for a Safer Santa Rosa, Supporting Terry Sanders for City Council, has raised $25,000 from the political arms of the associations representing Santa Rosa police officers and managers, the sheriff’s association and IAFF Local 1401, the firefighters union.

The groups have spent upward of $21,500 on signs, mailers, a text message campaign and online ads.

Huang, who earlier in the election loaned his campaign $35,000, reported raising $10,425 in contributions this reporting period. To date, he has brought in $50,100 and spent $14,799.

Shamsavari has not reported any spending and she previously told The Press Democrat that she had a self-imposed $2,000 limit.

Final outreach to voters

The absence of any countywide races and few competitive city contests has put a spotlight on the District 4 race, which has led to a spike in individual contributions and outside spending, said David McCuan, a political-science professor at Sonoma State University.

But while spending on the race is sizable, it’s not record-breaking, he said.

Six candidates running for four at-large Santa Rosa council seats in 2016 raked in about a half-million dollars in combined individual contributions and independent expenditures.

Campaigning by 2022 candidates and outside groups has largely ramped up in the last week. Messaging to voters has been mostly positive with candidates touting their experience and background in literature and digital advertisements.

A mailer sent last weekend paid for by the committee supporting Sanders highlighted his career as a firefighter.

“You count on us in times of need. Now we need your help to elect leaders we can trust,” the mailer reads, adding that Sanders’ public safety background gives him a leg up in understanding critical community needs.

Door hangers and canvassing paid for by labor groups behind the independent campaign supporting Fleming touched on the work she’s done while in office to address affordable housing, the climate crisis and child care options for working families as the city rebuilt after the 2017 fires and faced other disasters.

The candidates have also sent mailers on homelessness, one of the top issues in the race.

Fleming’s campaign said the city has added shelter beds and created inRESPONSE to respond to crisis calls since she’s been in office.

“Homelessness is our biggest challenge and my top priority,” the mailer states. “I am doing the work, as I have for years.”

Sanders criticized the city’s efforts to address homelessness, saying current policies weren’t working, noting the number of unsheltered residents had increased over the past year.

“Our current leadership is not working,” the mailer states. “With the current policies broken, I am ready to jump in and work toward solutions.”

What kind of impact this last push will have on the race is unclear.

McCuan noted much of the independent spending has occurred late in the election.

“Timing matters and this election seems to have taken longer to crystallize locally,” he said. “There’s a lot at stake for the actors around city politics but the degree to which they can be influential at the end is somewhat unclear.”

And he said Huang’s willingness to spend independently could draw voters away from Sanders, particularly if he plans to spend additional money in the final week of the race. Huang has sent two mailers and a letter to voters and run digital ads though that spending wasn’t reflected in the latest finance report, which he filed Oct. 31.

McCuan said candidates should be focused on on-the-ground voter outreach in the last week to drum up support and counter expected low voter turnout at the polls.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.