Hanford City Councilman Dan Chin is easily raising more money than his District C challengers, and in District B, Sue Sorensen has a definitive edge in campaign cash raised so far, according to new reports. These campaign finance reports were filed with city hall last week by all candidates running for District C and B of the city council. All but two collected or spent more than $1,000. Only John Murrisky, one of four candidates running for District B, and Richard Douglas, running in District C, filed a so-called "short form" claiming contributions and expenditure were under $1,000.

Chin, a two-term incumbent seeking another term, raised $10,814 in a period covering Jan. 1-Sept. 30 -- a significant amount for a small-town city council election. That's nearly seven times as much as what was raised by his opponent Mike Spicer. Chin far outpaces Douglas in the cash war with easily 10 times more money in his campaign war chest.

Chin's largest contributor this period was Ajner Singh Nahal, owner of Shah's Chevron station, who donated $2,000. The second largest donation came from the Kings County Board of Realtors' political action committee, or PAC, at $1,500. Chin raised money from a diverse set of Hanford interests, including $250 from Jim Olivas, a real estate broker; $250 from Fashion Cleaners; $200 from Valley Ford and $100 from Chuck Forsythe, an insurance firm owner.

His spending has totaled $4,757, of which $1,327 went to a fundraising dinner at Purple Potato and the rest went to postage and other campaign materials.

Chin's statement shows that he has paid $435 to his sister Sandra Dawson, who also acts as his treasurer for campaign work. He also has an unpaid bill of $4,494 to his own business, Buddy's Trophy, and $796 to Dawson for campaign paraphernalia, the statement shows.

Spicer has so far raised $1,590, which comes from his own pocket, and he has expended $1,504 in signs, postage, advertising and shipping, according to his campaign form.

In District B, Sorensen leads the campaign cash war with a total contribution of $6,456, including a $500 loan to herself. She has so far spent $4,378 in advertisements, printing of campaign materials and postage, according to her report. Top contributors to Sorensen's campaign include William Matts of Fresno, her father, who donated $500, and Danny Todd of Bacome Insurance, who donated $500. She also received $250 from the Kings County Board of Realtors PAC and Michael Robinson of Robinson's Interiors Carpet One.

Jon-Michael Hice, another District B candidate, has raised $1,050, including a loan to himself of $900 and a $100 contribution from former city councilman Dennis Sanchez. He has spent $967 in campaign materials.

Robin Mattos, who is also running for District B, has raised $1,646, including a $576 loan from her husband Andrew Mattos and $670 in contributions. Contributions include $100 from James and Jean Leonard, retirees, and $100 from Mel Avila, a retiree. She has so far spent $1,246 in fundraising, campaign literature printing and advertisements, her statement shows.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(Oct. 18, 2008)