Riverside council candidates raised nearly $500K for three seats — and one race ran on $5,000

The Riverside Record: The 10 candidates running for Riverside City Council in Wards 2, 4 and 6 have raised nearly $500,000 combined this year ahead of the June 2 election, according to campaign finance filings compiled by The Record. The money is lopsided. In Ward 2, Gracie Torres raised just under $100,000 since January — on top of $45,000 last year — much of it from firefighter, police and trade union PACs. In Ward 4, incumbent Chuck Conder pulled in $80,479 this year and has already spent close to $120,000.

The filings also surface the kind of detail that draws scrutiny. Conder took a $2,500 donation from Farmhouse Collective owner Beverly Bailey a week after he voted against a $20.1 million state grant for a supportive housing project near her business. Bailey told The Record the contribution was unrelated to the vote, one of many her family makes as part of civic engagement. Ward 2 candidate Mike Vahl, meanwhile, missed three state filing deadlines and submitted the paperwork only this week, saying he wasn't aware of them.

The contrast underneath the totals is the real story. Ward 4 challengers Rich Vandenberg and Qattawi ran on a fraction of Conder's money — Vandenberg knocked more than 12,000 doors; Qattawi started the year at negative $50 and leaned on small donors and community groups. Ward 6 has no six-figure campaign at all. Whether shoe-leather competes with consultant spend in a no-limits city is the question June 2 answers.