Friday, October 18, 2013
We wrote this week about two increasingly testy races for Spokane City Council. Lots of money pouring in, attack ads hitting local TV, name-calling. That's politics, we guess?
To get a better grasp on who's behind all this, here's a breakdown of who's funding each candidate and the TV spots on the air so far. (All of the campaign finance information came from the state's Public Disclosure Commission. You can find candidates and every donor who supports them by visiting this site. Peruse the PACs here.)
CANDACE MUMM
Total raised: $82,776.80
Total spent: $54,146.94
Top donors: Mumm has gotten much of her support from unions, both local and statewide: elevator constructors, painters, carpenters, fire fighters, healthcare workers, teachers, county and city employees, truck drivers and the regional chapter of union federation AFL-CIO. (She points to this as broad support from Spokane's working class. Her opponent, Michael Cannon, says this means she'll be unable to make tough decisions about union contracts if she's on the council.) Also among those who've donated at least $900: the Spokane Tribe and Planned Parenthood Votes. (Donors can give up to $900 in the primary and another $900 for the general.)
Other local notables:
MICHAEL CANNON
Total raised: $59,398.19
Total spent: $45,840.51
Top donors: Cannon's big givers include the "Build East PAC," which is funded primarily by local construction firms; City Administrator Theresa Sanders and her husband Mark Smathers, who each donated $1800; the Spokane Homebuilders Association; and the Washington Association of Realtors. Cannon has also loaned himself $2,000 for the race.
Other local notables:
JON SNYDER
Total raised: $64,901.55
Total spent: $34,684.81
Top donors: Snyder, like Mumm, has seen broad support from unions among his top contributions: fire fighters, healthcare workers, county and city employees, truck drivers and the regional AFL-CIO group. Planned Parenthood's PAC also contributed $900.
Other local notables:
JOHN AHERN
Total raised: $22,911.84
Total spent: $16,926.42
Top donors: Ahern, who's raised less than half of Snyder's war chest, has seen $900 contributions from the National Association of Realtors and the Spokane Homebuilders Association.
Other local notables:
And in the plenty-of-money-to-go-around category, local restaurant and pie mogul Vaughn Cyrus has given $1,000 each to Ahern, Mumm and Cannon.
Councilwoman AMBER WALDREF, who is running unopposed, has raised $30,800, with big contributions from Avista and unions like the healthcare workers, county and city employees, firefighters and the local AFL-CIO group.
PACS & TV ADS
One sign the races were getting ugly came when the PAC JOBS AND PROSPERITY FOR SPOKANE paid for an ad targeting Mumm and Snyder for their union support.
That group is funded by:
Other groups are looking to sway the race in the other direction. The INLAND NORTHWEST LEADERSHIP PAC has given $900 each to Mumm, Snyder and Waldref.
Its contributors include:
CITIZENS FOR HONEST GOVERNMENT recently spent $20,000 to buy air time for an ad in support of Mumm and Snyder.
Contributors include:
(UPDATE Oct. 19: This showed up in my mailbox today, paid for by Citizens for Honest Government. Have you gotten any PAC-funded mailers? Send me a photo: [email protected])
(Updated Oct. 25 to include Snyder's ad)
Sure, it's getting interesting, but we're still holding out for something this good.
Tags: Election 2013 , News , Politics , Image , Video