he dollar divide in San Francisco's campaign for public defender has widened.
In her latest campaign disclosure statement, Public Defender Kimiko Burton reported raising a total of $588,848. Her opponent, Jeffrey Adachi, has collected $171,080.
And after their expenditures so far during the campaign, Burton still has $483,406 on hand, while Adachi totals $160,380 in the bank.
Burton's contributors read like a who's who among Democrats. State Treasurer Philip Angelides gave her $500; Friends of Barbara Boxer $500; former Assemblyman Mike Roos & Co. $500; Democratic Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark $500; Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, $250. A $250 contribution from Democratic Rep. Howard Berman was returned.
San Francisco Judge David Ballati gave $500, while Judge Joseph Desmond kicked in $100. Also among the contributors was one of the city's newest "power couples": Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Guilfoyle gave Burton $250, while her husband, Supervisor Gavin Newsom, doubled that with $500.
The Long Beach Police Officers Association decided to get into S.F. politics with a $500 donation to Burton. An intriguing contributor of $500 was the S.F. Late Night Coalition, which includes a number of South of Market nightclubs.
Adachi's contributor list shows he's collecting much of his money from the city's Asian-American communities.
Lawyer Alexis Chiu of Holland & Knight gave him $250 this reporting period for $350 in total contributions during the campaign; Dr. Ryan Honda gave $300; Keith Kamisugi of the public relations firm of Niehaus Ryan Wong gave $500; Santa Clara law professor Rodney Fong gave $200. Adachi also collected $100 from former supervisor and police chief Richard Hongisto, and has collected a total of $450 from S.F. judge candidate Susan Lew, $100 of which came during the latest reporting period.
Bruce Hotchkiss, a defense counsel in a high-profile dog mauling case involving two San Francisco attorneys, gave $200 this period for a $500 total. Attorney Stuart Hanlon, who's defending former Symbionese Liberation Army soldier Emily Harris, gave $250 and Supervisor Matt Gonzalez kicked in $100 this period for a total of $400 during the campaign.
Both candidates have signed a pledge to abide by a $175,000 spending limit. But there are ways around it.
Adachi expressed concern at his formal campaign kickoff Wednesday that Burton may be waiting for an independent committee to spend money on her behalf.
He said Burton's father, state Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, was reportedly courting labor to spend so-called "soft money" on his daughter's behalf. If labor does spend above the $175,000 limit, the ceiling is blown.
Adachi said such independent expenditures would allow Burton to spend the huge war chest she has accumulated.
Burton said Thursday that she intends to abide by the spending limit, but is prepared to counter any negative campaign against her.
"It is still my intention to abide by the spending cap," she said. "But if I'm attacked, I'll spend more money."
Burton said she doubted that an independent committee would spend more than $175,000 to blow the spending cap.
She also feels that she raised enough money for her campaign and has stopped formal fund raising.
"I have not been actively raising money for some time," she said, adding that she declined a recent check a contributor offered her.
Adachi and Burton must file their next campaign contribution reports by 5 p.m. Thursday.
