By Lauren McSherry

Joe Hu/Town Crier Signs promote council and school board candidates on Springer Road.

With the Nov. 8 election less than two weeks away, it remains unknown whether campaign spending will indicate who will claim the two open seats on the Los Altos City Council.

Four candidates are vying for the council; no incumbents are running.

The two planning commissioners competing in the four-way race have raised the most money. Val Carpenter leads with $15,835 in contributions and Randall Hull has $11,296.65, as of the latest filing date. Local businessman Kurt Colehower’s contributions total $7,786. Tax attorney Chris Croudace lags considerably behind the other three candidates, having raised less than $1,000.

Clinching an election at the state or national level tends to hinge on amassing campaign dollars, but not necessarily at the local level. In past Los Altos council races, campaign dollars have not been the deciding factor in capturing an elected position.

Carpenter has spent $15,590, nearly as much as she has brought in. This is her second time running for council.

“I did all my fund raising this summer knowing I would have to personally supplement it based on the kind of campaign I wanted to run,” she said. “I’m focused on votes, not money. It’s a more expensive race this time and a large part of that is the increase in the ballot fee. It’s too bad that it’s so expensive to do this.”

The initial fee to get a 200-word statement on the ballot was $3,660, more than three times the cost from 2003. In 2003, the cost for a blurb was $1,138. Croudace filed and then withdrew his ballot statement.

Early estimates from the Registrar of Voters show that candidates can expect a 50 percent refund, the city clerk said.

The Help America Vote Act, electronic voting and language requirements for ballots are some of the factors that increased the cost.

Hull’s expenditures are $8,338.54; Colehower’s are just more than half that at $4,696.

Croudace has not filed for money raised or spent. Candidates who have contribution totals less than $1,000 are not required to form a committee but must file a statement saying they have not raised or spent $1,000, according to the city clerk.

“It costs too much,” Hull said. “It’s difficult for a lot of candidates who don’t have a lot of cash ready to run a campaign. My concern is this will discourage candidates from running because the cost of entry is too high.”

Colehower said his initial fund-raising push was successful.

“There’s always an opportunity to do more, especially in the last few weeks,” he said.

There is no campaign-spending limit in Los Altos. Candidates must record contributions of $100 or more. Candidates are slated to file a second campaign statement Thursday.

Croudace was not available for comment by press deadline.