Maurice Classen, one of four challengers running against two-term city council member Jean Godden, just put $32,000 of his own money into his campaign---something he had pledged to do to bring his fundraising in line with what Godden had on hand earlier this month.

Lest you write Classen off as an entirely self-funded candidate, though, he's also raised more than $10,000 from contributors during the past 12 days, most of it from attorneys and friends and relatives from out of town (including a speechwriter for New York mayor Michael Bloomberg). That's an impressive total in such a short time---particularly given that most of Classen's fellow challengers have raised no money so far (West Seattle Democratic Party activist Michael Taylor-Judd loaned himself $2,500 and has raised $400). Godden herself has not yet reported her fundraising totals for February.

Meanwhile, Seattle Community Access Network (SCAN)  director Dian Ferguson is rumored to be considering a council run of her own. No word on who Ferguson, who did not immediately return a call for comment, would be challenging.

Godden's race is already overcrowded, and Ferguson, who's African-American, might hesitate to run against half-Japanese/half-black council member Bruce Harrell, leaving three strong incumbents---Sally Clark, Tom Rasmussen, and Tim Burgess---as potential targets. The city slashed SCAN's funding last year and put its contract out for a competitive bid.