Johnson outspends Fargo by 3-to-1 in Sacramento mayor's race

Challenger Kevin Johnson outspent incumbent Heather Fargo by a 3-to-1 ratio in the first stage of the Sacramento mayor's race, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

When the dust settled after the June 3 election, both candidates had virtually emptied their coffers. Johnson spent $1.1 million and Fargo, $364,000.

Looking at it another way: Johnson spent $34.72 for each of the 32,160 votes he received in the primary. Fargo spent $13.24 for each of her 27,472 ballots.

Steve Maviglio, Johnson's new campaign manager, was philosophical Wednesday about his candidate's per-vote price tag.

"That means that not enough people voted in the primary," Maviglio said. "You have to spend the money anyway and just hope people will show."

As the primary's two front-runners, Johnson and Fargo are pitted in a runoff in the November general election. Johnson captured 46 percent of the June total to Fargo's 39 percent.

The campaign reports show that Johnson raised $589,452 in cash from donors through June 30. That, paired with the $500,000 loan he gave himself to kick-start his campaign in March, brought his total war chest to $1.09 million.

Maviglio said Johnson listed 1,255 individual donors, who gave an average of $387 each.

"The numbers show a wide breadth of support for Kevin from all kinds of people," said Maviglio, who joined the campaign Wednesday. He replaces Erin Lehane, who recently went on maternity leave. "There's been great momentum since the primary – people who sat on the fence are now supporting Kevin as the front-runner."

Fargo, relying only on contributors and no personal loans, collected $380,573. Her total reflects money she raised in 2007 as well as this year.

Dale Howard, Fargo's campaign manager, said the mayor did a good job of raising money, considering that she didn't know until March that she would be facing a well-heeled opponent.

"I feel very good about how much money we were able to raise, given the short amount of time that we had an opponent," Howard said. "Most of our money was raised in the last three months, and that momentum continues to grow."

The Fargo camp figures that Johnson, an Oak Park developer and former NBA All-Star, will loan himself more money as the November election nears.

"When you're running against someone with deep pockets, you have to accept that," Howard said. "Do I expect Johnson to outspend us? Absolutely. But we'll have very aggressive fundraising, and I think we'll have a robust, competitive campaign."

A new election cycle is under way, with new contribution limits for donors, so both campaigns say they are busy raising money for the battle to come.

Already, spending on the 2008 mayor's race is on track to eclipse all previous campaigns in the city. The previous record was set in 2000, when Rob Kerth spent $1.1 million to Fargo's $639,000.

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