It’s Election Day 2015, and Bainbridge Island City Council candidate Pegeen Mulhern is leading fellow council candidate Ron Peltier — in the race for campaign donations, that is.
Mulhern has raised a total of $13,249 in her bid for the District 1, at-large council seat.
Peltier, her opponent to replace Councilman Steve Bonkowski on the seven-member council, has raised $10,484 through Nov. 3, according to reports on file with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.
All told, Mulhern has a campaign fundraising edge of $2,765 over Peltier.
Mulhern has also spent slightly more than Peltier going into Election Day.
Mulhern’s campaign has reported expenditures of $9,864 so far, while Peltier’s campaign has spent $9,445.
The largest single expense for Peltier’s campaign has been on newspaper advertising ($1,879). Other expenses include 25 yards signs ($407) and rack cards ($250).
Mulhern’s campaign has paid $4,699 to Progressive Strategies Northwest, based in Tacoma, for services that include political consulting and robocalls. Other expenses include a campaign video ($350), voter list ($163) and newspaper advertising ($1,327).
A review of contribution reports shows that Peltier has brought in more individual donations than his opponent has.
Peltier has reported 86 individual donations; Mulhern, 53.
Mulhern, however, leads in large dollar gifts. Her campaign has received 15 donations between $250 and $950. Those contributions include a $950 donation from the Affordable Housing Council of Kitsap County, and $500 from Kitsap County Democratic Women.
Peltier has five donations between $250 and $500.
In the final month before Election Day, Mulhern raised more than twice the amount for her campaign than Peltier, even though both campaigns received the same number of donations during this period: 20.
Mulhern’s campaign received a total of $3,995 in donations in October, while Peltier’s campaign brought in $1,855.
October was the best month, in terms of the number of donations and total fundraising, for Mulhern. Peltier’s peak fundraising months, by contrast, were in July and August, where the candidate saw more donations and larger cash contribution totals to his campaign.
There are three other candidates seeking a council seat this November, but each is running uncontested.
Incumbent South Ward Councilwoman Sarah Blossom has not reported any contributions to the Public Disclosure Commission, and neither has Kol Medina, a candidate for the North Ward, District 2 seat.
Incumbent Councilman Mike Scott, who is running to retain his Central Ward, District 4 seat on the council, has reported donations of $2,375 to his campaign.
Campaigns for the council this year pale in comparison to the money raised during the 2013 election.
In that year, Richard “Dick” Haugen set a fundraising record of $29,370 in his race against Val Tollefson, who raised $26,378. Tollefson went on to win a North Ward seat.
Also in 2013, Roger Townsend raised $11,741 in his successful bid for a South Ward council seat. (His opponent, Cheryl McComb, pulled in $3,233).
Wayne Roth, who was elected as a Central Ward representative to the Bainbridge council two years ago, raised $12,285, while his opponent, Arlene Buetow, raised $10,947.
