Delgleize leads in campaign funds

Barbara Delgleize runs a real estate business with the slogan, "Barbara Sells the Beach."

Judging from finance statements, her candidacy is opening a few wallets, too.

The planning commissioner led all City Council candidates with $19,299 in funds raised from Jan. 1 to June 30, narrowly surpassing fellow Commissioner Fred Speaker, who garnered $18,276. Among Delgleize's supporters are State Sen. Tom Harman (R-Costa Mesa), Councilman Devin Dwyer, the Laguna Board of Realtors and the reelection committee for Assemblyman Jim Silva (R-Huntington Beach).

Delgleize said she was encouraged by the numbers, but added that finances alone didn't point the way to victory.

"The New York Yankees spend more money than anybody," she said. "It doesn't always help them win. But I'm excited."

Delgleize and Speaker made personal loans to their campaigns of $4,000 and $5,000, respectively. Speaker also received contributions from Silva, community activist Kim Kramer, Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitors Bureau President Steve Bone and former Mayor Ralph Bauer, among others.

Incumbent Joe Carchio followed Speaker in fundraising with $16,059. Joe Shaw, a former planning and public works commissioner, came in with $12,792, while Billy O'Connell, the executive director of the nonprofit Colette's Children's Home, came in with $10,495.

Shaw remains the leader overall in fundraising, having declared $14,005 at the end of 2009. He noted that while he was proud of the amount he had raised, equally important to him was the amount of money he had left — in the last six months, he spent $5,709.18, leaving his campaign with a cash balance of nearly $17,000.

"I think if you look at the amount that people have on hand, it's a much more telling statistic," Shaw said.

He added that when he did begin spending money in earnest, it would be on direct voter outreach rather than on political consultants.

"I've been my own consultant," Shaw said. "I don't need someone else to pay thousands and thousands of dollars."