There's not as much cash, but there's no shortage of competition in this fall's City Council and mayor's races.
At this point in the 2005 election, candidates Rick Osorio and Ellie Wooten had raised a record-setting $65,784 in their heated battle for the mayor's seat.
Two years and a housing bust later, campaign coffers are more modest. At the end of last week, campaign finance filings showed that Osorio and Wooten have raised a combined $27,095 so far, with Wooten leading Osorio in the donation game. She's raised $16,395 to his $10,700.
While the two candidates like to talk up their differences -- he calls himself a visionary, she says she's about action, not words -- a look at their donations list reveals strong similarities between them.
Both raked in $1,000 donations from the California Association of Realtors' political arm, both have strong backing from local real estate, building and developer interests.
That makes the mayor's race a near carbon-copy replay of 2005, but on the council side, the ballot is giving voters something new: variety.
The lineup of candidates includes a big-money candidate backed by establishment businesses, Merced's first Hmong candidate, a South Merced advocate, a labor-backed ex-probation officer and a double political legacy following in her parents' footsteps.
Here's a look at the slate...
MAYOR'S RACE
Candidate: Ellie Wooten Raised so far: $16,395
When Wooten ran back in '05 Merced's real estate boom was moving full-steam ahead with no end in sight.
"There was money all over and people didn't have a hard time with (contributing)," said Wooten. Two years later, she's cut the ticket prices at her fundraisers in half to $25 a head. "You have to respect the fact that it's not the boom," said Wooten.
That doesn't mean she's not getting some four-figure contributions. She's collected $5,000 from Stockton-based grocer Food 4 Less and $1,000 from Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, her longtime political ally.
As for strategy, Wooten says she's using her usual method:
"I'm going right to the people -- that's always worked for me. I think I've had some successes in the last two years and I'd like to continue."
Candidate: Rick Osorio
Raised for far: $10,700
With more name recognition this time around, Osorio says he plans to raise less money, about $20,000 or $30,000. But the stakes are higher for him. He terms out of his City Council seat this year, so if he wants to stay on the dais, he'll have to win the mayor's slot.
With $1,000 donations from local builder Bob Rucker and Fresno developer Leo Kolligian, Osorio describes his backers as "pro-business."
"It's the same people that contribute every year -- pro-business people and people who believe in what I believe in -- the little guy," said Osorio.
The contributors may not have changed much, but Osorio says he's employing different tactics this year, prompted in part by a 2005 Sun-Star editorial that labeled him "prickly."
"I'm being nicer to everybody," said Osorio. "I have to show my caring side, my softer side. ... Last time I was trying to prove I could raise money for a campaign and I was being aggressive. Now I'm just trying to raise money for what I need."
CITY COUNCIL
Candidate: Bob Acheson
Raised so far: $16,647
When it comes to money and organization, Acheson is out-gunning his competition by a sizeable margin.
Both his signs and Web site went up early, a move likely related to the fact that Acheson has hired a political consultant to engineer his campaign.
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