More money flows into Petaluma City Council race

Two of three incumbents and a first-time Petaluma City Council candidate raised the most in campaign contributions during the latest reporting period, eclipsing another newcomer who led in early fundraising.

Incumbents Gabe Kearney and Mike Healy, along with Healy's running mate Kathy Miller, each raised significantly more than the other three candidates - incumbent Tiffany Renee and challengers Alicia Kae Herries and Jason Davies - from Oct. 1 through Oct. 20. The reports were made public Monday.

The six candidates are running for three council seats on the Nov. 6 ballot.

In total contributions, Miller leads all candidates with $16,459, followed by Healy, $15,439; Herries, $15,034; Kearney, $9,950; Davies, $9,485; and Renee $8,838.

In the most recent reporting period, Healy received $8,305, compared with Miller's $7,747 and Kearney's $5,560. Davies brought in $3,155 and Renee $1,300.

Herries, an executive assistant, was first to announce her candidacy and began fundraising early. She led all candidates in fundraising through September, but took in only $1,500 this period.

Miller and Healy, both attorneys, showed support from other lawyers, the real estate sector and the building industry.

Each received the maximum contribution allowed, $200, from several of the same donors: four brokers from Cushman & Wakefield real estate; John Park, the CEO of Fortiss in Los Angeles and Monument Properties, a related company; and representatives from Keegan & Coppin real estate and Ghilotti construction.

Both received nine $200 contributions from Lee Ceccotti, the chairman of Shamrock Materials in Petaluma, employees of the company and other Ceccotti family members.

Kearney, an emergency preparedness coordinator at Kaiser Permanente, received eight of the same contributions from Ceccotti/Shamrock representatives. He also received several donations from Petaluma real estate interests.

Kelsey Sprenger, listed as a student in Santa Rosa, gave $200 to both Miller and Healy.

Kearney, Healy and Miller also each received a $200 contribution from Sonoma County Alliance, a coalition of local business interests.

Herries received three $200 donations from notable sources: a property manager and owner of Woolmington-Smith Ventures, which owns the Plaza North shopping center in Petaluma, and $200 from the center itself.

She also listed $200 in nonmonetary contributions of "voting aids" from the progressive watchdog group Petaluma Tomorrow.

Davies, a small business owner and high-tech marketing executive, also received three $200 contributions related to the Plaza North shopping center and $200 from the Carpenters Regional Council based in Oakland.

Renee, who runs her own web design company, raised $1,300 in contributions this period, for a total of $8,840. She had one donation of the maximum amount this period, $200 from the same carpenters union as Davies.

Kearney reported the most cash on hand heading into the final stretch, with $5,460 in the bank, followed by Davies with $3,180.

Renee is carrying the most debt, with $4,850, of which $3,000 is an unpaid bill from Trujillo-Caston consulting.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.