SALT LAKE CITY — With less than a week until the primary, the latest campaign finance reports show the Salt Lake City mayor's race continues to be flush with cash — likely to surpass the city's last mayoral election in money raised.
The eight candidates in the crowded race are reporting a sum total of more than $1.47 million raised since they began fundraising last year, already rivaling the roughly $1.5 million that candidates raised throughout the entire contentious 2015 mayor's race, including ahead of both the primary and general elections.
So far it's not the most expensive Salt Lake City primary race — the crowded 2007 race for former Mayor Rocky Anderson's empty seat drew in $1.7 million ahead of that primary. But it's coming close to what could be among the most expensive mayor's races in city history.
"There's a ton of public interest and probably a ton of good candidates," Salt Lake City Recorder Cindi Mansell told the Deseret News on Wednesday. "It's going to be interesting."
There's a ton of public interest and probably a ton of good candidates. It's going to be interesting. – Salt Lake City Recorder Cindi Mansell
As he has from the start, businessman David Ibarra continues to rake in the most cash, reporting a total of more than $437,000 raised, including about $43,000 raised since the end of June, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday night.
But former state Sen. Jim Dabakis — a likely front-runner according to recent polls — is the candidate with the most cash on hand, having only spent $124,000 of his $295,000, leaving him roughly $171,000 heading into the primary.
"We're not taking anything for granted," Dabakis said, but added, "We're very pleased with where we are financially. … I'm fiscally conservative, I'm really cheap."
Dabakis is the only candidate holding onto his stash, confident he'll advance to the general election. Other candidates, locked in what polls indicate is a toss-up for second place, are spending almost everything they have — throwing all their efforts into surviving the Tuesday primary.
"We will not be sitting on any cash," David Garbett, former executive director of the Pioneer Park Coalition and an environmental attorney, said Wednesday, noting that though his campaign report shows he has more than $81,000 on hand, most if not all has already been committed; bills just aren't due yet.
Garbett is next behind Ibarra in money raised, having taken in a total of more than $297,000, including more than $53,000 raised since the end of June.
"I'd love to have the problem of having to fund the operation for a week or two after the primary after we've totally emptied our bank account," Garbett said.
Ibarra has also spent nearly all of his cash, leaving only $22,439 on hand, mostly to confront what he sees as his biggest challenge: name recognition.
"I view it this way and always have: We'll raise about $450,000 to spend on this primary, and I'll go get another $500,000 for the general, and I believe I'll be able to raise that," Ibarra said. "Frankly, it will be a lot easier because you're not dividing that available local and national money."
Nearly one-third of Ibarra's cash comes from out of state — donations he attributes to the relationships he's built through his business work as well as friendships with elected officials across the nation, including mayors from Denver and Los Angeles. He's also received donations from Latino elected officials, including a political action committee for Ruben Kihuen, a former U.S. House member from Nevada.
Ibarra sees his national donations as a positive in a high-profile local race.
"I'm a problem solver that has national connections in my business and with other elected officials, and that should be a plus for our city, not a negative," Ibarra said. "And if some try to say that's negative, well I know why they would say that. That's because they don't have the connections or experience I do."
Although Ibarra has raised the most cash, Salt Lake City history shows money isn't everything when it comes to winning the mayor's seat. In 2007, both candidates who raised the most ahead of the primary — Jenny Wilson and Keith Christensen, who raised more than $558,000 and $641,000, respectively — lost to Ralph Becker and Dave Buhler at the primary.
Both Ibarra and Dabakis have also cut themselves big checks to fund their campaigns. Dabakis, who's latest check totaled $20,000, said he borrowed some money on his house. "That's how much I believe in this campaign," he said, while refusing to accept cash from special interests and criticizing what he called "the evil of dark money" given from political action committees.
Dabakis has the most number of individual donors with 802, while state Sen. Luz Escamilla, who polls indicate may be the closest vote-getter behind Dabakis, has taken in about $206,000 from 762 donors.
"We feel strong," Escamilla said, attributing her donations to her grassroots efforts, and no "self-funding."
"We are absolutely putting everything into this primary. … We knew it was going to be hard," Escamilla added, saying that while she'll likely spend everything she has left heading into next week, she's ready to implement a "very aggressive fundraising plan" if she advances to the general election.
Escamilla has taken in money from some prominent Utah names, including $2,450 from Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen, and $2,500 from Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski's wife, Betty Iverson.
Salt Lake City Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall, though she's in the middle of the pack for fundraising, says her campaign is "right on budget." She's taken in a total of $121,000 from 271 donors and spent about $96,000, leaving her with $31,000 on hand.
"I have what I need to run the campaign I'm running, and that feels really good," she said. "You don't buy votes, you earn them, and that's why we have the most momentum in the race at this point."
Mendenhall said she's running a more "Obama, grassroots, voter-targeted approach" compared to her competitors, and so she's "frankly delighted" when she sees her opponents sink money into billboards.
"While they're doing that, I'm running a sophisticated strategy that is engaging voters in a substantive way," she said.
Notable donations to Mendenhall include $2,000 from the Governor's Leadership Political Action Committee, Gov. Gary Herbert's PAC, and $1,000 from the Utah Building Construction Trades Council, a group that represents 15 member unions.
Former Salt Lake City Councilman Stan Penfold has raised about $103,000 from 531 donors — a campaign he says remains rooted in the neighborhoods — "regular folk," he said.
"That's where our campaign is really resonating and that's what our contributions reflect," Penfold said.
Penfold, too, is spending all he has ahead of the primary. The general election, he said, will be a "whole new race."
The other two candidates, Rainer Huck and Richard Goldberger, have raised much less. Huck has written himself checks totaling $15,000 and reported no other contributions, while Goldberger has only raised $1,152, including an odd $500 from Huck.
As of Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office had received 16,264 ballots from Salt Lake City, equalling about 17.3% turnout of the city's roughly 94,000 registered voters, according to Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen.
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated where former U.S. House member Ruben Kihuen is from. He's from Nevada, not Arizona.