Kerry taps his own fortune

WASHINGTON — Democratic hopeful John Kerry has loaned his campaign $850,000 and will mortgage his family's Boston home to come up with more campaign cash, marking the first time a candidate has tapped his personal fortune in the 2004 presidential race.

The Massachusetts senator, once considered the front-runner in the Democratic field, has been struggling to overcome rival Howard Dean's political and financial lead in the race — even following Dean last month in opting out of the presidential public financing system and its spending limits.

"This is a clear statement by John Kerry — he is in the race to win the nomination and defeat George Bush," campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said in a written statement.

Kerry began the year as one of the field's money leaders, raising $7 million from January through March, but his fund raising has fallen off as Dean's has soared. In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Dean raised $15 million to $4 million for Kerry.

Kerry must come up with any money he loans his campaign without tapping wife Teresa Heinz Kerry's multimillion-dollar Heinz food fortune.

Campaign law allows Kerry to take out loans on the full value of property he owns, and on half the value of property he co-owns. His wife can co-sign loans if the bank requires, but cannot pay them back. She is limited to the same $2,000 limit applied to all individual campaign donors.

In a financial disclosure form filed earlier this year, Kerry reported investments valued at about $700,000 to $2.4 million, plus up to $600,000 worth with his wife.

The Kerry family home is located in Boston's tony Beacon Hill neighborhood, the supposed birthplace of door-to-door Christmas caroling and home to some of the city's better known residents, the Vanderbilts, "Little Women" author Louisa May Alcott, and these days, Kerry and his wife.

It features elegant brownstones that carry multimillion-dollar price tags and a gated private park in the middle for which only Louisburg Square residents get a key. As recently as 2002, the median home price for a condominium was $400,000 and $3.9 million for a single-family home.

The Kerry campaign declined to disclose the cost of the house or what other wealth Kerry has, beyond saying he has several millions he could use for the race. If any of that resulted from gifts or transfers from his wife, Kerry would have to prove it came before he started his presidential campaign more than a year ago.