Big spending led candidates to victory in Salinas’ $1.2 million election.

The Nov. 5 election took place a month ago, but it’s just now ended, when Monterey County Registrar of Voters Gina Martinez certified the election results on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Candidates are still completing accounting information, but we have an idea of what they raised and spent. And in many cases, money translated directly into victory.

In Monterey, incumbent Tyller Williamson soared to victory over challenger Monique Kaldy with a 34-point margin, or 4,120 votes. He outfundraised her also; as of an Oct. 30 campaign finance reporting deadline, he raised $36,835 compared to Kaldy’s $25,200.

For the Monterey City Council race in District 3, Jean Rasch beat Eric Palmer by a razor-thin margin of 13 votes, despite being outspent, with $10,827 compared to Palmer’s $18,413.

In District 4, incumbent Gino Garcia held off Brian Perez by 185 votes, despite a fundraising lag. Garcia raised $11,189, less than Perez’s $14,421.

For the board of the Monterey Regional Airport District, a newcomer successfully ousted the incumbent in District 2, with Jonathan Ahmadi beating Carol Chorbajian by over 1,300 votes. He also outfundraised her, $7,443 to $4,299, as of Oct. 30.

In District 3, Uwe Grobecker outfundraised incumbent MaryAnn Leffel, $7,239 to $4,849, but lost by more than 2,000 votes – fundraising does not always equate to winning.

But it did in Salinas, where five candidates for mayor and council significantly outfundraised their challengers – and all five won. A political action committee called Protect Salinas alone spent at least $36,536.

Mayor-elect Dennis Donohue raised at least a whopping $321,826 – close to four times more than Chris Barrera, who raised at least $82,629. (Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia raised just $1,782, in keeping with his belief in campaign finance reform – a good idea in theory, but not a good way to win elections.)

Nowhere were the dollar figures bigger than in the Salinas mayor’s race, but the margins were. For Salinas City Council District 1, Jose Luis Barajas outfundraised Alex Ayala by a margin of 25-to-1, with at least $137,000.

In District 3, Margaret D’Arrigo raised at least $145,267, more than 6 times more than Cary Swensen, the next-biggest fundraiser in the four-person race.

In District 4, Gloria De La Rosa fundraised more than 4 times her opponent, incumbent Orlando Osornio, with $158,722. And in District 6, Aurelio Salazar Jr. similarly outfundraised incumbent Anthony Rocha by 3.5-to-1, with $155,523.

All told, this means campaign fundraising for the 2024 elections in Salinas exceeded $1.2 million.

Of course, there are no guarantees – with more than $1 billion, Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump.

Imagine what all this money could do if it was spent on something other than competing for our attention and our votes.

Campaign finance reform is an uphill battle, often fought by those who are leaving public office. (Gonzalez’s campaign for mayor of Salinas, for example, was based in part on his noble vision of a campaign without influence – but it also earned him just 17 percent of the vote.)

Retiring Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams reintroduced a proposal in October that would see the board implement term limits (of up to 12 years) and campaign finance restrictions. “Campaign finance reform is critical to ensure elections are fair and equitable, without the influence of donors who contribute large sums to candidates seeking elected office,” Adams wrote in referring the matter to the board.

They discussed the topic on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Adams’ last meeting before retiring.

Supervisor Luis Alejo – who was first elected in 2016 against a four-term incumbent, Fernando Armenta – was first to reject the concept. “It’s convenient to say it on your way out, at your last meeting,” Alejo said, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the board.

“I’m not feeling like it’s a pressing issue,” Supervisor Wendy Root Askew said.

Adams used some of her final remarks at her final meeting to push for it. “Most importantly it increases participation in the democratic process,” she said.

They ultimately voted a tepid 3-2 to get more information on the matter.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com