San Diego city councilwoman Christine Kehoe, who just missed knocking off Congressman Brian Bilbray last year, is off to a big fundraising lead in next year's race for the 76th District state assembly seat. As of the end of the latest reporting period in June, Democrat Kehoe had raised $73,967 and spent $8013, leaving her with $67,454 in cash on hand. Contributors to the openly lesbian Kehoe included the Washington, D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund ($2992.18); Jeffery Soref of Manhattan, co-chairman of the board of the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York state's largest gay and lesbian lobbying group ($1000); New York advertising executive Suzanne Levan ($250); concert promoter Bill Silva ($500); architect Marc Tarasuck ($125); Pamela Wilson of downtown's politically active Sullivan, Wertz, McDade law firm ($250); Charles Bird, of downtown's Luce, Forward law firm, a frequent city contractor ($500); and Ben Dillingham, heir to the Dillingham construction fortune and ex-aide to former mayor Maureen O'Connor ($500). Kehoe also got money from Ivan Gayler of the Del Mar Partnership, which develops biotech real estate in the city ($1000), as well as $500 from Michael Gelfand, who is waging a nasty battle with tenants of his De Anza trailer park on city-owned land along Mission Bay. David and Lesley Cohn, who own a string of restaurants around town and are big backers of a new baseball stadium downtown, provided $5000 worth of food and catering. Sempra Energy, another stadium player, gave $500. Stan Foster, father-in-law of city schools chief Alan Bersin, provided $500. Kehoe also picked up $1000 from Assemblywoman Denise Ducheny. Her only announced Republican opponent, Duane Admire, got $5000 from Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian.

Over the Fence

Padres owner John Moores is known for playing hardball both on and off the field. Now he's put some of his money into HardBall Software, Inc., which, according to a press release last week, is a company that provides "data delivery software for the Internet and the e-business environment." Moores's investment arm, JMI Equity Fund, L.P., sank $4.5 million into the firm, according to the announcement. In keeping with Moores's take-no-prisoners reputation, Hardball's software product is called Shark ... Two San Diego attorneys from the firm of Baker & McKenzie are preparing to unveil www.megalaw.com, a website for lawyers. "The time is right for a website by lawyers, for lawyers," says Robert Harkins, one of the lawyers, in a recent news release ... A plan by San Diego public broadcaster KPBS to expand its rapidly growing empire by taking over a Pasadena radio station is apparently kaput, reports the Los Angeles Times. Financially troubled KPCC-FM, which is licensed to Pasadena City College, is negotiating with Minnesota Public Radio to assume operation of the station through a 15-year lease. KPBS had proposed to do the same but was rejected, the paper reports ... A San Diego outfit that tried to build a computerized jail-management system for DeKalb County, Georgia, has been fired, according to the Atlanta Constitution. Acting at the request of the sheriff, the county board of commissioners voted to terminate the $1.1 million contract with Epic Solutions, Inc. The company has also been having trouble installing a similar program in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, county jail, where authorities were forced to jury-rig a temporary computer system while waiting for the long-delayed Epic software.

Bad Habits

He was just re-elected to his 40th District state senate seat less than a year ago, but that didn't stop Steve Peace from raising $87,600 in campaign funds during the first six months of this year, even though term limits forbid him from running again. Peace spent $118 at the Bellagio room in Las Vegas and on travel ($524 for two staffers to travel from San Diego to Bakersfield on United). Combined with money he'd previously raised, Peace ended up with $169,000 in the bank.

Contributor: Matt Potter