Ybarra, Johnson lead fundraising pack

The lone Democrat and an establishment-backed Republican are way out in front of the other four candidates for Mary Skinner's state House seat when it comes to raising money.

Vickie Ybarra, the Democrat, had raised just over $21,000 as of July 7, according to state Public Disclosure Commission reports. And Norm Johnson, the Republican who carries endorsements from the other 14th District lawmakers, leads the rest of the candidates with about $14,500 over that same period.

"We've gotten checks as small as $15 from individuals and as large as $800," Ybarra said.

She and Johnson -- along with Scott Hess, Al Schweppe, Bob McLaughlin and Aubrey Reeves -- are vying to replace the retiring Skinner, a Yakima Republican who served seven terms in the House. The top two vote-getters among them in the Aug. 19 primary will face off in the November general election.

Ybarra believes her success in fundraising comes both from relationships she's established through years of public service as well as from a newly energized Democratic party.

The 47-year-old, who is president of the Yakima school board and director of planning and development for the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, said her goal was to have $10,000 by the end of June. Instead she ended the month with nearly $17,000.

"Progressives in this area are excited to have a viable candidate they can get behind," she said.

Among her most notable donations are $1,600 from the Washington State Nurses Association, $500 from state Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, and $500 from the Education Voters political action committee.

She's also gotten considerable support from closer to home, including donations from Yakima Councilman Neil McClure, Southeast Yakima Community Center Manager Ester Huey and prominent lawyer Blaine Tamaki.

Johnson, a Yakima councilman and retired school administrator, likewise has a host of notable names on his donor rolls. One of his largest donations, $800, came from the politically influential Affordable Housing Council of Central Washington. But Yakima Mayor Dave Edler, former Sen. Alex Deccio, state Sen. Curtis King and former Yakima Mayor Henry Beauchamp also have donated to the 69-year-old's campaign.

"Unfortunately, it's going to be a costly race," Johnson said. "If you're going to win, you're going to have to spend money."

McLaughlin, a retired school administrator in Yakima and
Union Gap, is using some of his own money to keep pace. So far, he's put just over $5,000 into his campaign, including a $2,480 loan that could be paid back if money is available. He's also received just over $5,200 in donations as of his July 6 campaign finance filing. That doesn't count a donation he just received from the Washington Association of Public Service Employees, which he said brings his total to more than $11,000.

He expects a bump in the coming weeks if donors he has courted live up to their promises.

"I think I'm in the race," the 67-year-old said.

Schweppe, too, expects his fundraising picture to improve in the near future. The most recent report available on the Public Disclosure Commission's Web site Friday put him at $1,200 through June 25. But the 46-year-old Yakima lawyer said more recent filings boosted that number to more than $3,000. That's still a ways off from the $15,000 to $20,000 he expects it will take to advance beyond the primary, but he believes he'll get there soon. He also has picked up a couple of heavy-hitting endorsements -- one from state Secretary of State Sam Reed, the other from the Mainstream Republicans of Washington State. The latter, a group of moderate Republicans, is also endorsing Johnson.

Hess, a political newcomer, picked up endorsements from the state and Yakima County farm bureaus last week but still trails in money raised. As of July 1 he had reported only five donations, totaling $350. But the 35-year-old employee of the National Federation of Independent Business has supplemented that with $3,500 of his own money and said more is already coming in from donors. He expects to raise between $10,000 and $20,000 before the primary.

Reeves, a former Union Gap mayor who owns Aubrey's RV in that town, had $700 in donations as of his July 3 filing on top of the $500 he put toward his own cause. He figures he'll need about $15,000 to win the primary and said he isn't sure whether he'll be able to get that. But the 67-year-old figures maybe he'll win points with fiscal conservatives by running an inexpensive campaign.

"There are signs out there by different people ... who have five, six, seven signs within 100 feet," he said. "That gives the impression they're wasting money, and I wouldn't want someone representing me to waste money like that."

* Pat Muir can be reached at 577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.