If money is the mother’s milk of politics, Joe Krovoza apparently has found himself a whole dairy.
The Davis mayor and would-be California Assemblyman raised a whopping $118,000 in the first financial reporting period to easily lap the other four candidates who are chasing a seat to represent the 4th Assembly District.
The amount comes as no surprise, since Krovoza had previously sent out a letter to “friends” of his, telling everyone how his campaign was swimming in cash. Given the tone of the letter and the spelling of the candidate’s last name, from now on I shall refer to such upbeat reports as “krowing.”
It’s odd to see politicians from Davis openly bragging about how much money they’ve raised. In this holier-than-thou city, where we like to do things differently, raising too much money leads a candidate to face charges that he is trying to “buy” an election. That doesn’t stop Davis City Council candidates from going ahead and raising as much money as they can, but I’ve never seen any of them brag about it.
Also doing a bit of campaign crowing is the other Davis City Councilman in the race, Mayor Pro Tem Dan Wolk, despite the fact that his cash on hand pales in comparison to that of the mayor.
Wolk raised a paltry $49,856, of which $8,200 came from mom and dad. That would be a handsome amount for a Davis City Council race, but is far short of the funds necessary to win a seat in a district that stretches through all or part of six counties.
Still, Wolk’s campaign manager, Will Arnold, said the cash on hand is “exactly the start we hoped for,” given Wolk’s later-than-Krovoza entry into the race.
The fact that Krovoza and Wolk are household names in the People’s Republic does them little good in places like Arbuckle, where an informal poll reveals that 57.9 percent of residents think Krovoza is the starting linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Wolk is the actor who played the Canadian ambassador in the movie “Argo.”
Hence the need for mounds of cash to facilitate fancy four-color brochures printed in at least 10 languages, plus the occasional newspaper and television ads to let folks in the faraway corners of the 4th District know that all residents of Davis were not born on Mars.
According to Brett Johnson’s revealing front-pager in The Davis Enterprise, “Krovoza received five separate donations of $4,100, the maximum allowed for Assembly candidates from individuals or business entities.”
I think the rule actually states that no candidate for Assembly can raise more money from one individual than the average annual water bill in the town he currently represents.
“Two came from Krovoza’s immediate family, another two were from his wife’s family and the other came from Bill Imada, the best man at his wedding.”
Hey Bill, Bob here. Just wanted to say if you’re passing out cash, you may want to sprinkle some along the mean streets of our hardscrabble neighborhood.
I didn’t realize a best man could be such a valuable asset. Then again, I didn’t have a best man. All the priest in question required was that I bring along a best bride, which I did. No best man, no $4,100 later in life.
The remaining candidates in the field barely raised enough money for a Happy Meal at McDonald’s.
Napa County Planning Commissioner Matt Pope raised just $20,293, and has applied to change his last name to Francis and have himself listed on the ballot as “Pope Francis” in an overt attempt to capture the district’s large Catholic voting bloc.
Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd didn’t report financial numbers, while Lake County Supervisor Anthony Farrington raised $18,125, little more than chump change in a district so scattered.
“Farrington reiterated that he is refusing to accept money from special interests,” which is what the guy at the bottom of the financial totem pole always says to explain the lack of donations to his campaign.
But, truth be known, everyone who contributes to a political campaign has a “special interest” of some kind in seeing that person elected. It might not necessarily be a financial interest, but it’s a special interest nonetheless.
Why would someone contribute hard-earned cash but to see that candidate elected and hopefully help adopt legislation you agree with?

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