Campaign cash-in

Facing only a token challenge in her bid for reelection this year, San Diego county supervisor Dianne Jacob raised plenty of campaign cash from the familiar litany of special interests with business before the board. Thanks to big contributions from lobbyists and their clients who knew they were betting on a virtually sure winner, by the last week of the campaign — the latest period for which disclosure records are currently available online — Jacob had piled up $341,349.26 of cash in the bank, with no outstanding debts. During the first five months of the year, $16,978 was collected, much during the last weeks of the campaign.

May donors included Constance Ziegaus, employed by lobbying outfit Southwest Strategies ($500); Southern California Edison manager Felix Oduyemi ($500); marketing man Craig Fuller of Greenhaus ($300); Timothy Schott of Schott and Lites Advocates, Sacramento ($500); and lobbying consultant Steven LaMar of Irvine’s LegiSight ($500). Developer Bruce Tabb and wife Cheri kicked in a total of $1000 in late March. Lisa Malec , a vice president with Tabb’s firm, Environmental Development, came up with $500 the same day. Earlier in the year, Tara Kelly and Erica Lynn Johnson, two employees of Sullivan Solar Power, each gave $500, as did Robert Davis, CEO of Jamul’s CP Manufacturing; Richard Cavanaugh, president of developer Newport Pacific, Inc.; and Coronado’s Gregory Lambron, CEO of developer T.G. Lambron. From the first of the year through May 19, the Jacob campaign spent $45,212, much of it — $38,233 — on Aaron, Thomas & Associates, a direct-mail service in Chatsworth. Tom Shepard, Jacob’s longtime campaign consultant, who racked up a big loss this year with the mayoral campaign of ex–GOP state assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, got $6000.