Proctor seeks to close up debt

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- They run. They win. And then they’re most likely

stuck with campaign debts to pay off.

Faced with huge bills to pay, some elected officials will bite the

bullet and write off personal funds they’ve used to support their

candidacy. Others decide to go back to supporters and ask them for help.

That’s a step Councilman Gary Proctor recently took to recover some

money.

“I am writing you today to ask for your help to retire a $25,000

personal campaign debt that I incurred running for city council,”

Proctor’s June 15 letter to supporters began. “It’s not easy to ask

anyone for money.”

Proctor then continued his pitch with a rundown of his work to keep

flight caps at John Wayne Airport and to build an airport at El Toro.

“Airport issues consume a tremendous amount of time and energy,” he

wrote. “I am pleased that my colleagues have allowed me to work on this

challenging project.”

On Friday, Proctor said he’d simply spent more money than expected.

After hearing from others that postelection fund-raising letters were

fairly common, he decided to give it a shot.

“Whatever I can’t retire, I will just have to pay off personally,” he

said, adding that he’d spent about $55,000 on his campaign.

Some of his colleagues agreed that Proctor’s action wasn’t out of the

ordinary. Councilman Tod Ridgeway said he couldn’t remember seeing

another mass letter before. But he added that he’d received private

letters from elected leaders asking for money to cover their debts in the

past.

Ridgeway, who won his seat in 1998, said he still had about $19,000 in

personal debts himself. But unlike Proctor, he didn’t send out letters to

supporters after the election.

“I’m in a position to absorb it, and it was just a choice I made at

that point in time,” he said, adding that his entire campaign cost about

$65,000.

Councilman Steve Bromberg, who along with Proctor was elected in

November, said he could appreciate Proctor’s decision.

But although Bromberg also chipped in about $11,500 of his own money,

he didn’t send out more fund-raising letters.

“A lot of people suggested a long time ago to send such a letter,”

said Bromberg, whose campaign cost about $62,500. “But I didn’t feel

right about it. It’s just not something I’m comfortable doing. I just

took it out of my own funds.”

For Councilman John Heffernan, the third newcomer to the council as a

result of last year’s elections, the entire campaign budget of $35,000

came out of his own pocket.

“I wish [Proctor] the best, but I have a different philosophy,”

Heffernan said, adding that he self-financed his campaign to avoid

feelings of owing supporters any favors.

Looking ahead, Ridgeway said there was one way to avoid more debts if

he runs for reelection in 2002.

“If I have nobody running against me, I only need one vote,” he said.

“Mine.”

He noted that council members Norma Glover and Dennis O’Neil had an

easier time getting reelected in 1998 because no one opposed them.

Glover, who could not be reached for comment Friday, actually has some

money left in her campaign fund. She’s used it to support such local

groups as the environmental nature center and Stop Polluting Our Newport.

If Proctor receives money in the next week as a result of the letter,

he’ll have to report it in the next campaign contributions statement,

which is due July 31 and covers the period up to June 30.