Steven Richter took the local political world’s breath away last week when it was revealed that he made a $1 million contribution to the Lincoln Club of San Diego County’s political action committee. A letter to the Republican-leaning, pro-business organization signed by the little-known Point Loma attorney carried a simple message. “This contribution is without any restrictions or limitations. All we ask are that the funds are used for good and worthwhile causes,” said the letter, which also carried the name of his wife, Carol Richter. There’s one problem: Almost nobody seems to believe that. Publicly, there’s not much known about the contribution or Richter. But there’s been a fair amount of reporting that suggests most if not all of the money may go to help Larry Turner, a San Diego police officer who does not belong to a political party, defeat Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria in November. Certainly, that’s what several people who should be in the know are saying on background. No one I talked with can recall a $1 million contribution to a local political committee for a candidate race, let alone a sizeable donation with so little direction. Contributions of all sizes often come with intent — perhaps not written, but often verbal or through a kind of political osmosis. Once a donation is made, the committee gets to decide what to do with it. But spending it against the wishes of a big donor can have consequences down the line — as in no more contributions. Maybe the Richters are different and mean what they wrote. Carol Richter told La Prensa there were “no strings attached” to the money. The Richters, who don’t have much of a political footprint in San Diego, haven’t said any more than that publicly. Steven Richter has declined requests for interviews from The San Diego Union-Tribune and doesn’t appear to have been quoted in in other local media. It would be nice to learn more about what the thinking is behind a move that could upend the mayor’s race — where incumbent Gloria had a huge financial and institutional advantage and led in the polls — if not the entire local political scene. The intrigue extends beyond Richter, with little information available about how the Lincoln Club will spend the money, who will be running the campaign and how various influential figures in town may or may not be involved. A couple of things seem certain. There’s been some internal jousting about control of the money and whether some of the funds should be spent on other club priorities, such as to support former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a Republican, in his high-profile race against county Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, a Democrat. Also, it appears some of the Lincoln Club membership was as surprised by the donation as anybody else. Richter is not a member, according to club Executive Director Victor Lopez. The letter, dated Sept. 11, was circulated Friday by La Prensa, the day after the Voice of San Diego reported that two sources confirmed the money was specifically targeted to help Turner. Publicly, club officials wouldn’t go that far, though they have set up an independent expenditure committee for the mayor’s race. The law forbids such committees from coordinating with the candidates they support. Lopez was asked whether the $1 million would go for Turner and against Gloria. “I don’t know,” he said in an email. “Mike Turk, the chair of that PAC (the club’s political action committee), said that they still haven’t determined which campaigns, if any, will receive funds from that donation.” Among the many interesting twists, Axios San Diego reported that Turk and his wife recently made the maximum contributions to Gloria’s campaign, while Steven and Carol Richter each donated the maximum, $1,350, to Turner in June. Like most everything else about this, the people involved aren’t revealing much about how this came to be. Tom Tamar, a Lincoln Club member and president of City Wide Protection Services, was in contact with Richter, though he wouldn’t confirm or deny that he recruited the attorney for the donation or received the check from him, as others with knowledge of the transaction said. “I can’t comment on that,” he said in response to questions about both. Nor would he comment about any conversations he had about this with David Malcolm, longtime businessman and influential political figure. Malcolm is listed as co-chair of the Lincoln Club PAC, yet in an interview he sought to keep his distance from the Richter situation, saying he had some knowledge about it but had never met Richter. Further, there’s wild speculation about what political consultant or consultants would be running the campaign. That’s mostly an insider’s game, but which strategists are involved can suggest who might have influence on an independent campaign. Longtime San Diego political consultant Tom Shepard said he has had discussions with Lopez about this, but last week told Axios, “I will not do any work for that campaign.” “Yes, I’m still not involved,” he told me Monday. “I don’t plan to be and I don’t think I will be.” Similarly, the name of Chad Peace of IVC Media has been floated as likely having a role in the campaign but he laid that to rest on Friday. “I will not be involved in any way in that,” he said. Peace is the son of Steve Peace, a regional political power and former legislator who has been a longtime friend and ally of Malcolm. Contacted last week by the Union-Tribune about the Richter donation, Peace said that telephone call was the first he had heard about it. Malcolm didn’t respond to a second call. Asked about whether Shepard, Chad Peace or Lincoln Club Political Director Brian Pepin would be involved, Lopez said no decisions had been made. “We haven’t determined what internal or external team will be used yet,” Lopez said. Hopefully, most if not all of this will become clear in the coming days. But the landscape already has shifted. Gloria is making feverish appeals for more campaign contributions. His apparent easy path to re-election, seemingly solid just early last week, no longer exists. (UPDATE: The column has been clarified about contact with Steve Peace.)