Four weeks into the campaign, the 11 candidates for mayor of Fresno are doing their best to stimulate the local economy: Between them, they've already raised more than $605,000.
Most of that money came to just three candidates.

In city campaign reports filed Monday, Ashley Swearengin reported raising $147,198, Henry T. Perea said he brought in $131,687 and Mike Dages reported $65,600. Perea and Dages also reported transferring large amounts from their City Council campaigns -- $77,000 for Perea and $66,743 for Dages.

The numbers are a significant jump over the last mayoral campaign with no incumbent, and show how competitive the June 3 primary race could become.

Two months before the 2000 primary, nine mayoral candidates had raised slightly more than $222,000. By year's end, the two runoff candidates, Dan Whitehurst and Alan Autry, between them had raised $585,933.

In the race to replace Autry, who is termed out of office, this year's top three fundraisers all received strong support from local developers, many of whom donated to all three campaigns.

Perea also received large donations from unions, and from his father's campaign. Fresno County Supervisor Henry R. Perea is running unopposed for a new term on the board.

Swearengin, on leave from her job as head of the nonprofit Regional Jobs Initiative, drew significant financial support from local physicians groups and business owners.

Dages reported $3,600 from Club One, Fresno's downtown casino, and received support from real estate interests and business owners.

Former Council Member Tom Boyajian was the fourth-highest fundraiser with $41,167.

Other totals: Council Member Jerry Duncan, $25,400; Deputy Mayor Jeff Eben, $34,001, including $20,000 he loaned his campaign; Fresno police detective Henry Monreal, $9,100; businessman Jim Boswell, $5,699; and former Fresno County Supervisor Doug Vagim, $2,500.

Businesswoman Barbara Hunt and Realtor Ignacio Garibay did not report any donations during the reporting period, which ran from Jan. 1 to March 17.

Under city rules, candidates this year could not solicit campaign donations until Feb. 11. They are, however, allowed to lend their campaigns money before that date, and several did.

Perea, with the largest pile of cash on hand as of March 17, said the money would help him reach out to voters.

"I feel confident I'll have the resources I need to get my message out," Perea said. "The campaign is on the right track."

Swearengin said she felt her fundraising success was a sign of strong support in the community.

"As a political outsider, it's incumbent on me to raise the money I need to get my message out," Swearengin said. "I have a goal for fundraising, and I'll just say that I've made really good progress toward that goal."

Dages said he's been successful and productive as a council member, and will now use the donations to let voters know what he has accomplished.

"Now, I can tell people not only what I have accomplished on the City Council, but what I will do as mayor," Dages said.

For those at the other end of the spectrum, low donation totals don't necessarily signal an early end to a campaign.

Duncan said every candidate's financial needs are different.

"I've ran, and won, in this city before," Duncan said. "Good or bad, people know who I am. I don't need to raise money just to get my name out there."

Monreal, who predicts he will raise at least $350,000, said he hasn't started full-time fundraising.

"I haven't even held a fundraiser yet," Monreal said. "I'm going to spend the next two months campaigning full-time, and fundraising full-time so I can reach more people."

As impressive as the donation totals may seem, past elections have proved that money isn't everything in Fresno.

Whitehurst won the financial battle in 2000 by raising $322,985 in his race for mayor. Autry raised $262,948 -- and nearly $100,000 of that came in after the general election.

The result at the polls: Autry won in a landslide.

Vagim, who was the last candidate to join the race for mayor, said it's a lesson he's keeping in mind.

"It's all about positioning," Vagim said. "Autry was in the right place at the right time. That's why I'm not worried about how much money I have now. It's about how much I have on hand when I need to put myself in position to win."

The reporter can be reached at dboyles@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6659.

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