I speculated the other day that Debbie Poochigian, a candidate for Fresno County supervisor, might be able to use campaign funds from the account of her late father, Deran Koligian, a longtime member of the Board of Supervisors until passing away in 2001. She just called me to say she would not use her father's campaign funds, which totals about $108,000.

She said she does not know if she could transfer the money into her account, but it's a non-issue anyway because she said she wouldn't consider using that money.

The Deran Koligian campaign account remains open and the money is donated to various charitable causes a little bit at a time. For example, the latest report shows a $100 donation to Edison Babe Ruth Baseball, $500 to Fresno Central Ag Boosters and $500 to Central High baseball.

Debbie Poochigian also said she she has not discussed using her husband's campaign funds with him, so she "can't rule it in or out at this time." Former State Sen. Chuck Poochigian has about $149,000 in his treasury from his unsuccessful run for attorney general last year.

She already has $168,900 in the bank for the District 5 race and has a Sept. 12 fund-raiser scheduled.

Magsig has raised about $214,000, and Waterston has about $208,000, according to campaign finance reports.

Posted by Jim Boren at 5:28 PM | Permalink

Debbie Poochigian, one of the candidates challenging Supervisor Bob Waterston in next year's District 5 race, is running third in fund-raising, according to the political wiseguys in the county. That's true if you don't look at all the campaign statements on file in the Fresno County Elections Office.

This is the way some people see the fund-raising race so far: Clovis Council Member Nathan Magsig leads with close to $214,000, with Waterston having more than $208,000. Poochigian is third with $168,900.

But look a little deeper and you'll see that Poochigian has other money potentially at her disposal. Her father, the late Deran Koligian, still has $108,737 in his old supervisorial account. Her husband, former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, has $148,848 in his account from his unsuccessful run for attorney general last year.

It's unclear whether Debbie Poochigian can transfer all of that money to her supervisorial campaign. But if she can, she has $426,485 available without holding another fund-raiser. Maybe she won't be able to use all that money because of campaign laws, and maybe her husband will want to keep his campaign account open in case he runs for something in 2010.

But just maybe she is way ahead of her opponents already and they don't even know it. Some think this will be a million-dollar race, with three experienced and well-funded politicians running. Poochigian has proven in dozens of campaigns over a generation that she's a major fund-raiser for others. That's a lot of IOUs, and she hasn't even asked donors to dig deeply into their pockets yet. She could be a million-dollar candidate all by herself.

Posted by Jim Boren at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

His political opponents think so. Clovis City Council Member Nathan Magsig will formally announce his candidacy for Supervisor Bob Waterston's District 5 seat at 10 a.m. Tuesday. And Debbie Poochigian, the daughter of the late Supervisor Deran Koligian and the wife of former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian, says she'll also challenge Waterston when he's up for re-election next year.

Waterston has been in political trouble since recent revelations of ethical problems. This will be a high-profile race and there will be a lot of money spent as the three candidates slug it out.

A recent Bee story about the fund-raising race reports this:

Magsig leads the three candidates with close to $214,000 in his campaign coffers, and Waterston has more than $208,000 in his account, according to recently released finance reports.

But in the period from Jan. 1 to June 30 of this year, Poochigian has far outdistanced both Magsig, who raised $85,636, and Waterston, who collected $93,424.

Poochigian raised her $168,900 in less than three months. Among her 72 donors, one-third gave $5,000 each.

Magsig issued a news release Monday explaining his announcement plans. Here's the entire news release:

Continue reading "Is that a huge bullseye painted on Fresno County Supervisor Bob Waterston's back?" »

Posted by Jim Boren at 1:56 PM | Permalink

Former state Sen. Chuck Poochigian has been rumored as a possible candidate for Fresno mayor next year. When Poochigian was in Visalia recently for a Rotary Club speech, The Bee's Lewis Griswold asked him about his political plans.

"I have a very open mind about my future. I'm exploring any number of opportunities," Poochigian said. "It'll take another month or two to decide what to do next. I'm flattered by the encouragement I've received and I'm not foreclosing any opportunities."

He added that "It's really not a high probability" that he'll run for mayor.

One hurdle: He'd have to move into the city to run.

If Poochigian decides to run for mayor to succeed Alan Autry, who is term-limited, he would be the big favorite. That would likely persuade other mayoral candidates to re-think their plans.

Posted by Jim Boren at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A surprising name on State Sen. Chuck Poochigian's fund-raising list for attorney general is tennis star Andre Agassi. Poochigian was given a $10,000 contribution by Agassi for his campaign against Democrat Jerry Brown. Agassi, by the way, announced this weekend at Wimbledon that he is retiring after this year's U.S. Open.

So how did Poochigian connect with Agassi? After all, Poochigian doesn't have a lot of celebrities hanging around him like Brown, the former California governor and onetime darling of Hollywood. The Fresno Republican said a common friend hooked him up with Agassi.

Here's what Poochigian told me in an email to me after I asked why Agassi was giving him 10 grand:

"A friend of mine (and his) told him about me and my campaign and urged him to be supportive."

Posted by Jim Boren at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

State Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, issued this statement just after 9 p.m. saying he will face Jerry Brown in November for attorney general:

"I thank the voters of the Republican Party for honoring me with our party's nomination for Attorney General of California. I will not let them down.

"I congratulate Mayor Jerry Brown for his victory in the Democratic Party. I also congratulate Rocky Delgadillo for the spirited race that he ran and for his contribution to an essential public debate on protecting the safety of families in California.

"Tomorrow I will continue that debate so that by Nov. 7, the citizens of California will fully understand the clearly defined choice they have over the direction of law enforcement in our state."

Continue reading "Poochigian against Jerry Brown in November" »

Posted by Jim Boren at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)