GORDON HOLDS LEAD IN RAISING CAMPAIGN CASH WIGGINS, HOVANESSIAN ALSO GET DONATIONS IN COUNCIL RACE.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

BURBANK - With an election to fill the seat vacated by former Councilwoman Stacey Murphy a couple of weeks away, a local optometrist leads the campaign fundraising pack, followed by a former Burbank mayor.

Since September, David Gordon has raised just over $13,000, followed by businessman Bill Wiggins, who's raised $10,100. Attorney Vahe Hovanessian has brought in almost $4,200, and the other two candidates, attorney Amy Lawrence and former air traffic controller Michael Dontanville, both have filed papers saying they won't raise any campaign cash.

``I'm very pleased because I didn't anticipate such strong support for my campaign at the beginning,'' said Gordon, whose total war chest includes his own $4,000 loan. ``People from across the community have stepped forward to support my campaign.''

Wiggins, a former mayor and current Bob Hope Airport commissioner, said even though voters will choose a new council member soon, the race is far from over.

``I think we got an election to go through,'' said Wiggins, who's money came from Burbank residents and business owners. ``We'll wait and see how it ends up. I feel real good when I walk and talk with people, but the Christmas holidays are here and the ballots haven't gone out yet. We'll wait and see what happens.''

The candidates will report their contributions twice more before the election period ends Jan. 24. City officials will mail ballots Jan. 3 for the all-mail special election to more than 54,000 registered voters.

The open seat was vacated by Murphy, who resigned Aug. 30 after being charged with drug possession and child endangerment in a case connected to the Vineland Boys gang.

Hovanessian said most of his campaign money so far has come from family loans.

``To me, this is a content-based campaign,'' he said. ``It's not about the money.''

Wiggins said when he first ran for council in the early 1990s, he amassed nearly $60,000. It was a time when the city had no limits on how much an individual could kick in to a campaign.

Since then, the city has imposed new rules, limiting individual contributions to $250 per person.

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com