Builders put little cash into Modesto election

"Uninspiring races, slow time for housing, probably all of the above," said Steve Madison, executive director of the Central California Building Industry Association.

That's a shift from last year, when developers contributed more than $100,000 to races for seats on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.

Two years ago, developers put thousands of dollars into City Council races that led to Kristin Olsen's election and Will O'Bryant retaining his chair.

"I don't think (developers) have a horse in this race," said Councilman Garrad Marsh, who has tried to limit building on unincorporated land.

Voters will see four of seven council seats on the ballot next week, but only two of those races are contested. Neither Mayor Jim Ridenour nor Marsh attracted a challenger.

"There are just really no competitive races in Modesto," said land-use attorney George Petrulakis, who has contributed to two of the races.

Ridenour is the exception to the rule when it comes to political money this year. He outpaces all candidates in fund raising, with $39,149 in contributions.

Developers were willing to open their wallets for him. His supporters include Petrulakis, Cathy DeLaMare of Mid-Valley Engineering and Christopher Tyler of Pacific Union Homes.

Four men are seeking an open seat left by Councilman Bob Dunbar, who is not running for re-election. Councilman Brad Hawn faces a challenge from retired businessman Tom Maher.

Hawn has raised close to $12,000 in his race. Less than $1,000 comes from developers; architects and engineers make up the bulk of his donors.

Maher, his opponent, remains funded mostly by a $1,200 per-sonal loan.

In the four-way race, only attorney Robert Farrace pulled together significant campaign contributions. His $18,076 in donations includes $5,000 from real estate broker Jim Lankford, $1,000 from Petrulakis and $500 from an attorney trying to build a downtown condominium tower.

"The presence of developers never goes away," Farrace said. "They have an interest and they have a right to participate in community activity as well. The thing right now is, the growth issue is less of an issue because the market is in the tank."

His fund raising far exceeds the sums his rivals garnered.

Campaign for less than $1,000

One of them, Dave Lopez, chose to run a campaign on less than $1,000. Lopez raised more than $19,000 in 2005 before his runoff in an unsuccessful bid to unseat O'Bryant.

"Developers have been taken out of the equation when you have a candidate like myself who does have name recognition and can continue to get his name out by knocking on doors," said Lopez, a five-time candidate.

Electrician Brent Maynor is running against Lopez and Farrace with little more than $1,200 he raised from family and a union, while fellow candidate Robert Stanford hasn't received political contributions.

Farrace's fund-raising success stands out in his group, but it trails sums candidates raised in recent elections.

Olsen had raised $45,611 just before her runoff race against slow-growth advocate Denny Jackman in 2005. Olsen's contributors included Madison's organization, Velthoen Associates Commercial Realtors and Brekke Real Estate.

O'Bryant raised $34,250 in the same year, with donations from the Central California Building Industry Association, Petrulakis and relatives of PMZ Real Estate President Mike Zagaris.

In 2005, the council fielded pressing questions about growth with home prices soaring and several major annexations appearing to hit delays in City Hall.

Those projects, such as the 3,200-home Tivoli planning area in east Modesto and the 2,100-home Fairview project in west Modesto, face less pressure to break ground in the midst of a weak housing market.

"Modesto doesn't have many active development projects, so that may be due to the market," Petrulakis said. "You wouldn't really know unless there were competitive races."

Madison said some of the city's builders could be holding back on the race to fill Dunbar's seat until a runoff emerges. He said it's expected that Farrace will face Lopez in a Dec. 11 runoff.

"Betting people probably have a good idea about the outcome of the races; and it's possible people are keeping their powder dry for the open seat to see who's in the runoff," Madison said.

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.