Herrera Heftiest, Chiu Quickest Fundraisers in SF Race

The nine hopefuls for San Francisco mayor in the November election have one thing in common: money, and lots of it, with $2 million in campaign cash swirling around San Francisco thus far, with months left to go before November.

Money, money everywhere -- and there's plenty more on the way.

The nine major mayoral candidates in the field for San Francisco's chief executive -- surely the most interesting election on November ballots in the Bay Area -- have raked in a grand total of $2 million during the first six months of 2011, according to campaign finance filings reported on Monday. And while multiple candidates have raised and spent well over a half-million dollars, a few hopefuls have distinguished themselves.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera has the heftiest war chest on hand, with over $586,000 in campaign cash available, according to filings. But while both Herrera and former Supervisor Bevan Dufty have raised over $300,000 in the first half of 2011, after declaring for mayor in 2010, they've been humbled by the quick start of Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, whose campaign kicked off in February.

Chiu has raised nearly $400,000 in four months, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Other big moneymakers: state Sen. Leland Yee, who has raised $231,856, and venture capitalist Joanna Rees, who has raised $215,285 in 2011.

Herrera, Yee and Dufty have all spent more than $500,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Though to be honest, the most profligate fundraiser has also been the most generous donor. That'd be you, the San Francisco taxpayer. Under the city's public financing laws, over $2.2 million in public matching dollars has been doled out to candidates, who have raised $1.9 million in their own right. So you do have a horse in this race: each and every one of them, big and small, long shot and favorite, is spending your money even before they get to allocate the city's budget.
 

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