FOLLOW-THE-BUCK YUKS: In the District 13 state House race, Republican Ron St. John pulled out before filing his nominating petitions, because his live-in partner couldn't get a job. An aide to GOP Supervisor Mike Boyd, St. John said he just couldn't afford to give up his job. Until he sang his political swan song, St. John had raised $32,323 and spent $20,892. He sent what was left back to his contributors. The big question (particularly if you had sent St. John a check): How do you blow more than $20,000 before the campaign starts? According to St. John's own campaign records, eight weeks of car rental in July and August of 1995 cost $2,403. When asked about the high car rental costs, he first mumbled something about a "mid-size" from Enterprise. But according to an Enterprise spokesperson, a mid-size rental car now or last year would have cost well under $200 a week, and that price includes unlimited miles. St. John, who says he didn't own a car at the time, claimed during a later interview that he rented several small cars for brief periods, which means he didn't get weekly rates. Also, he says, he bought the insurance Enterprise offered at high rates. He also claims his financial statement, which indicates two separate rentals for periods of three and five weeks, is incorrect. Curiously, St. John also charged his campaign $134.70 for tires. He says the tires were for one of the rental cars for "safety" reasons--even though the date of the tire purchase on his campaign report was earlier than the dates of the car rentals. It's a wise man indeed who somehow knows the size of the tires on a car he will eventually rent. Perhaps St. John should consider chucking his political gig in favor of a career in pork futures. St. John also spent $419 on a cell phone for 47 days from October to December. Guess he needed to be in touch at all times, even though his election was still a year away. Then there's the personal computer from Office Max, which came to $2,337. Of course, no one gets a computer without needing an upgrade right away, which explains charges from Egghead Software ($828) and Computers Plus ($348). St. John still has the computer and says he'll "donate it after the campaign season." We asked if that means it's being used for Boyd's campaign. His answer: "Could be." He also spent $168.35 at Borders bookstore. This purchase, he claims, was for volumes on public policy which he admired and distributed to members of the state Legislature. Hey, it's the thought that counts. Mary Higgins, listed as a consultant (and who calls herself a "campaign manager" on her voter registration card), made about $6,000 from St. John's "campaign."The Connect Consulting firm, run by the queen of Republican consultants, Bunny Badertscher, drew $3,406. A one-time rent item was $300. Among our politicians, there are two kinds of people--hustlers and marks. You can tell them apart by their campaign financial reports. St. John's reports have "hustler" written all over them. Here's a mark:GOP Supervisor candidate Sally Slosser, who's facing Mike Boyd in District 1. Slosser had raised $21,199, including more than $13,000 she lent her own campaign. Slosser paid slightly more than $10,000 of her total to RLC Associates, the firm of former Paul Marsh aide Rod Cramer, for consulting fees. Cramer says the money went for target marketing, demographic information and voter lists. Cramer is no longer with the campaign. Slosser says he was terminated; Cramer says he quit because Slosser was "unmanageable." Meanwhile, the man Slosser wants to beat, Supervisor Mike Boyd, had raised $46,598 and gone through $20,343. Much like his aide, the uncanny tire expert Ron St. John, Boyd charges plenty of small items to the campaign--charges that often involve getting a meal. In fact, Boyd's personal reimbursements for out-of-pocket items average more than $100 a month, according to campaign records. Boyd also drew a $1,000 advance to attend the GOP National Convention in San Diego. Boyd, a former local TV personality, says he originally considered the convention expense legitimate because it could entail the opportunity to be interviewed on television. One wonders what Boyd, at best a minor political functionary in an out-of-the-way desert burgh, would have found to say to a vast national political audience, other than, "Hi, mom!" Now he says he'll repay the $1,000. Another round of filings is due this week.

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