Voters in San Joaquin County will start seeing ballots arriving in their mailbox within the next two weeks.

And while this midterm election is shaping up to an incendiary one in Washington D.C., those vying for positions on the Lathrop City Council aren’t going to break the bank in pursuit of their goal of being an elected official in one of the fastest-growing cities in California.

According to statements that were filed on Sept. 29, both incumbent mayor Sonny Dhaliwal and his challenger John Thanh Do have spent less than $4,000 between them in the battle for Lathrop’s top elected spot.

Dhaliwal – who is wrapping up a record fifth term as mayor – has received $2,750 in contributions according to the FPPC Form 460 that was filed last month and is visible on the Lathrop City Clerk’s website. That money was received from six individuals from Lathrop, Stockton, and Tracy.

In addition to direct contributions to his campaign, Dhaliwal also received $1,067 worth of campaign signs from the Lathrop Manteca Firefighter Political Action Committee – an in-kind donation that covered more than two-thirds of the $1,500 expenditure that the longtime mayor made on campaign signs. His only other expenditure was the $650 candidate filing fee – leaving Dhaliwal with $600 in cash.

The meager numbers are in stark comparison to the record-setting fundraising being carried out by those seeking the mayor’s seat in Manteca this cycle. Current Manteca City Councilman Gary Singh has raised more than $125,000 in his bid to unseat current mayor Ben Cantu.

Dhaliwal’s challenger, a Lathrop political novice, is listed on his 460 form as the sole contributor to his campaign – making four contributions for a total of $1,464.28. Do has spent $1,264.28 so far in this campaign - $650 for filing fees and a candidate statement and $614.28 on campaign signs. As of the time of the filing he had $200 cash on hand.

The other three candidates vying for the two available seats on the Lathrop City Council – incumbents Paul Akinjo and Diane Lazard and challenger Christina Campoy-Laughlin – have all filed 470 forms stating that they plan on receiving less than $2,000 in contributions and spending less than $2,000 on their campaign.

If the current numbers hold, candidates for both the Lathrop mayor’s race and the Lathrop council race could spend less than $10,000 total during the campaign – less than one-tenth of what a single candidate has raised in Manteca for the contentious three-way battle for the mayor’s seat. 

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.