After a great three-day weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas at my 50th high school reunion, I am back to work and back on the campaign trail.

Our first mailing piece hit mailboxes of traditionally vote-by-mail voters on Saturday, October 6. The second mailing piece will go to all frequent voters this coming Saturday.

I have added the endorsement of the West County Democrats.
We still need donations, and we have an on-line donation button. See http://www.tombutt.com/contribute.htm.
For lawn signs, contact Gina Rango at gina.rango@intres.com, or phone Gina at 510/236-7435. You can either pick one up or request delivery.

For additional information, see www.tombutt.com. For information on the League of Women Voters SmartVoter, click here.
Upcoming Candidates Forums:

• October 10, 2012, Marina Bay Neighborhood Council, Harbormaster's Meeting Room at 1340 Marina Way South. 8:10 PM to 9:00 PM. Time allotted to each Candidate will be determined by the number of individuals who elect to attend.
  October 11, 2101: Kennedy High School, Cafeteria will start at the beginning of 4th period (12:25PM) and will continue until 2PM.
• October 17, 2012: Santa Fe Neighborhood Council, Business Breakfast/Mixer.  We hope to see you on October 17, 2012.

My form 460 was filed one day late due to my being out of town. To see my Form 460, Click here if you are interested. My campaign fund raised $23,300 between July and September, behind Bell and Langlois but ahead of Roberson, Martinez, Myrick, Kinney and Bates.

Anti-beverage tax coalition quadruples campaign spending in efforts to defeat Measure N
Activists paid by the Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes carry placards outside the Civic Center in Richmond. The CCABT has spent $2.2 million on efforts to defeat Measure N since January. (Photo by: Tawanda Kanhema)
By Tawanda Kanhema and Stephen HobbsPosted October 8, 2012 8:00 am
The Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes spent $1.8 million dollars on efforts to defeat Measure N between July 1-September 30, more than four times what it spent on the campaign in the six months between January and July.
Campaign contribution statements filed with the city clerk Friday show that the CCABT, a local group funded mainly by the American Beverage Association,   received $1.39 million in total contributions between July and September and spent $1.84 million on its efforts to defeat Measure N.
Since January, the CCABT has spent $2.2 million. The Fit for Life campaign in support of the Measure N has spent $25,293.
Seven of the 11 candidates running for seats in the Richmond City Council also filed campaign disclosure statements Friday. Current Councilmember Tom Butt and candidates Anthony Green, Mark Wassberg and Eleanor Thompson missed the deadline.

Butt, contacted late Friday night, said he was in Arkansas for a 50th high school reunion, and was unaware that he missed the deadline. “My wife is handling that,” he said. “My guess is that we were both busy doing stuff. I was under the impression it was due Monday.”
City Clerk Diana Holmes said her office was considering what action to take against the candidates who missed the deadline.
“Candidates usually file ahead of time or on time, and it is a little unusual that some fail to submit their campaign contributions on time,” she said.
Of the candidates that filed their pre-election statements Friday, Gary Bell had the highest amount in contributions at $34,253, followed by Richmond Progressive Alliance candidate Marilyn Langlois at $25,318.
Richmond politics brimming with beverage industry dollars
By Robert Rogers
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   10/05/2012 05:18:56 PM PDT

RICHMOND -- Defeating a penny-per-ounce ballot measure is worth millions to the beverage industry.
Less than one hour before the deadline for filing campaign finance disclosure forms, six of the 11 candidates for City Council had turned in their papers Friday.
But all their money combined was a pittance compared with the $2.2 million in campaign spending reported by the Community Coalition Against Beverage Taxes, a campaign committee funded by the Washington D.C.-based American Beverage Association with the express purpose of defeating Measure N in November.
The City Council in May voted to put Measure N, which would require local businesses to pay a penny per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverage sales, on the Nov. 6 ballot.
The money has been used to hire a San Francisco-based public relations firm and saturate airwaves and street corners with advertising.
The pro-tax "Fit for Life" campaign reported $25,293 in spending thus far.
The six candidates who had reported as of 45 minutes before the 5 p.m. deadline were Mike Ali-Kinney, Gary Bell, Marilyn Langlois, Eduardo Martinez, Jael Myrick and Bea Roberson.
The top earner was Bell, who had $34,253 in contributions, mostly from businesses and other large donors. Langlois was not far behind, with $29,228, mostly from smaller donors who gave less than $500. Roberson and Martinez had also raised more than $20,000.
Incumbents Nat Bates and Tom Butt had not yet filed but are expected to have big war chests to hold their seats.
The six early reporting candidates have spent a combined $66,551 so far this season, or less than one-thirtieth of the spending by the beverage companies to defeat Measure N.
Contact Robert Rogers at 510-262-2726 or rrogers@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow at Twitter.com/roberthrogers