… in funds on hand (as well as a few other things).
This morning I went down to city hall to get the campaign
financial reports for those who have filed them. Bob Townsend did not have a
report on file. So maybe he really is going to hang up the spurs on remaining
on the city council. Who knows? But when it comes to contribution on hand for those running for city council, there are some interesting items.
The big ZERO in campaign funds is Scott Dunn. Dunn did not
report any contributions and has $0 cash on-hand. However, he did loan himself
another $10,000 bringing his loan total to $13,000.
Steve Mitchell is #1 with $12,537.08 in his political war chest.
He had no recent donation either.
Coming in at #2 (at the bottom end) was Kendall Hartley with
$18.48 on hand. Hartley may or may not draw an opponent in this next election,
but so far no one seems to be interested in running for Place 4. Currently
Hartley holds the place 5 seat, an at-large seat.
Mark Solomon has amassed $362.51 in his on-hand war chest
and $22,690 in campaign loans. No one has felt the need to help him with his
debt as there has not been a single recent donation to his campaign.
Laura Maczka, the only one on the council who refers to
herself as a professional fund raiser has raised $2,150. That might have been a
normal and reasonable amount in the past, but it is probably not going to cut
it this year. She needs a lot more money. Of the total she raised, there were
at least 5 people who donated amounts less than $50 for a total of $225. There
were also 11 people who donated more than $50 to her campaign for a total of $1925.
She has no loans to herself and $2,124.17 on hand.
The big news in campaign finance is Amir Omar. He has at
least 14 donations of less than $50 and 36 donations of $27,070. He has tripled
the number of people donating to him than Maczka. He has collected 13 times the
money Maczka collected. The professional money raiser is getting a whipping!
(for now) You never know, things can also change.
This financial report can be found at:
As for who might be running for city council here is the
list of those who have picked up a packet:
http://graphics.dc-tm.com/CCpacket2013.pdf (ignore this list)
Update: There have been some questions and comments about some people picking up more than one packet. After a few questions, that got cleared up.
It seem the city secretary was planning on hand delivering 7 packets during the first council meeting of the new year. So it appears in the first line she wrote down "city council" and "7 packets" on the first line. For whatever reason, her plans were changed and she decided not to do that.
So, when Steve went in to pick up his packet she cross out what was on the first line and then wrote in Steve's name.
Bob Townsend is the only one so far to pickup more than one packet, he picked up two packets. Maybe he is working on finding a "qualified, like minded" replacement for himself. Or, maybe he just knows he is going to goof up on the first set and got a second set for backup. So here is the revised list on who has picked up packets so far.
http://graphics.dc-tm.com/CCSignUpList.pdf
Update: There have been some questions and comments about some people picking up more than one packet. After a few questions, that got cleared up.
It seem the city secretary was planning on hand delivering 7 packets during the first council meeting of the new year. So it appears in the first line she wrote down "city council" and "7 packets" on the first line. For whatever reason, her plans were changed and she decided not to do that.
So, when Steve went in to pick up his packet she cross out what was on the first line and then wrote in Steve's name.
Bob Townsend is the only one so far to pickup more than one packet, he picked up two packets. Maybe he is working on finding a "qualified, like minded" replacement for himself. Or, maybe he just knows he is going to goof up on the first set and got a second set for backup. So here is the revised list on who has picked up packets so far.
http://graphics.dc-tm.com/CCSignUpList.pdf
Understand how the game is played in Richardson. Envelopes full of cash and promises for performance are staples that flow freely between donors, candidates, PACS, and campaigns. Get familiar with it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough a violation, candidates coordinate recording of contributions with donors such that reporting can be delayed until the last minute.
This, for the benefit of the sour public opinion of donation sources and to mitigate any negative impact during the campaign.
Also, donors like to be quiet about who they give to and why. They don't want the competition knocking on their door, too.
Sleezy politics is a way of life here. Witness the countless acts by public servants that have been in defiance of the public trust.
Hmnnn....Guess Mr. Dunn REALLY IS #1 with himself. Shows just how much HE enjoys being a Councilman, and wants to retain the office he won by virtue of having no opponent in the last election. While early, the total lack of citizen contributions to his campaign so far speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteCould that lack of financial support to date be resultant from his actions and demeanor so far while in office? Will the biggest barrier to his re-election not be the amount of money he contributes to his own campaign but his performance for the last two years?
The list of packet pickers is rich. Mitchell wasted no time during the annual hangover to trudge down and sign up to receive seven. Seven? Really? No, let's strike that. It doesn't appear Mitchell picked up packets for anyone but himself this time.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Mr. Troon Circle, Bob Townsend picked up two packets. A master of deception, Bobby T. has yet another something else up his sleeve. Any bets on which friend(s) he will pass envelopes (packet and cash) to? Or, is he silly enough to think he has anything useful to offer? My bet is he runs for the hills like the others but tries to get some traction for somebody of his pickings before he bolts.
Lackey Laska, what a piece of work this guy. Big "?" in the Place Seeking box. Doesn't look like his Coalitionist Party buddies have designated a Place for him.
If the Coalitionists pull their usual tricks, there will be some stealth candidates who file at the last minute.
I don't see any of the Coalitionist's Real Zero awardees on the roster.
I especially like the note the city weenies put on the bottom of the packet pickup roster. It would appear that their fear of the Public Information Act is spilling over into their packet pickup preview of potential candidates routine.
ReplyDeleteThe smarties have figured out this piece of city hall's nosey business and have surrogates pick up the packets, as if one could not be copied and duplicated even more quietly.
Then, only one person could do the pickup and then supply copies to whoever wanted one without having to disclose anything to anyone on a public document until the filing deadline. Is that what's up Townsend's sleeve? It would appear Mitchell had something similar in mind for the seven packets that he apparently reconsidered.
Are the sitting public servants so paranoid about who might run for office that they want the opportunity to spread the word?
Also, what law says that a candidate must provide the personal information requested on the forms to city hall to begin with? The only law I'm familiar with regarding running for public office pertains to residency requirements. Who is using this information and for what?
Wasn't there an instance when city hall had some private citizen investigated and used an interdepartmental information sharing scheme to acquire the person's SSN? Talk about dirty business.
It would appear that the Privacy Act has lost its champions of law enforcement.