Virginia law does not limit the amount an individual or corporation can donate to political campaigns, but it does require candidates to disclose donations. The September 15 filing reveals that from July 1 to August 31, in elections for the Charlottesville City Council, Albemarle Board of Supervisors and House of Delegates, money was flowing but most campaigns are still hoarding their war chests.
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Four-time Republican incumbent Rob Bell has raised the most money locally: $82,258 from more donors than anyone else. His ending balance is $570,251. |
Not surprisingly, the House of Delegates races have attracted the most cash and in-kind contributions. These races cover a much larger area than local ones, thus bringing in more money.
In the race for the 57th District seat, Democratic incumbent David Toscano brought his total balance to roughly $112,000. In contrast, Independent challenger Robert Brandon Smith III wound up the summer with $0. While Smith could not be reached for comment, Toscano told C-VILLE that “people raise money at different times in an election. When you get an opponent, you raise money so that you can reach out to constituents, inform them about the important issues, seek their input, and publicize that there is an election and get them to vote.”
In the 58th District, Democrat Cynthia Neff is challenging Republican four-term incumbent Rob Bell. Neff, however, has yet to challenge his fiscal resources. By about a factor of five, Bell’s coffers are the area’s biggest. His campaign’s balance changed to $570,251 from $582,210 as he spent around $94,000 for the summer and pulled in $82,000 from more donors than anyone else. Neff had less than a third of that fiscal flow from fewer locations across the state, but that doesn’t mean Bell will rest on his laurels.
“The races have become more expensive,” he explains. “If the race becomes one of the marquee races in the state, the money’s there if we need it. But we’re still knocking on doors every Saturday and working very hard.”
Neff, meanwhile, is overall pleased with her fundraising. “Of course, it’s hard not to look at what other campaigns are doing around the commonwealth, and how our numbers stack up. It’s always interesting to see who is donating money to whom,” she says. Furthermore, the average size of her donation reflects “the $5 and $10 checks we receive from people that, while they might not have a ton of money, are invested in the future of the area and are willing to chip in what they can.”
Dennis Rooker, running unopposed for Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Jack Jouett District, has amassed the area’s fourth largest political balance sheet, topping $71,000. Fellow incumbent David Slutzky (Rio District) came in with the largest average contribution for the summer—$5,000 from the property management firm Tiger Investments LLC. Slutzky raised another $2,079 and spent $4,089 to end August with about $39,234. In comparison, Republican challenger Rodney Thomas continues the race for the Rio District seat with $7,463.
In the race for the Samuel Miller District, an endorsement from the retiring Supervisor Sally Thomas did not lift Madison Cummings’ haul above the field’s. Democrat Cummings received about $1,700 and spent more, to end August at $7,531. Independent John Lowry had slightly more success, but since he began the summer with less money, was left with $4,862. Republican Duane Snow, in contrast, was the big earner—and big spender. His total balance stayed around $1,000, but he managed to receive $5,335 and spent almost as much.
Finally, in Charlottesville, Democratic running mates for City Council Dave Norris and Kristin Szakos each spent $501, although Norris raised $2,185, just more than triple Szakos’ results. Norris heads into the fall with $2,178 and Szakos with $1,149. The closest Independent contender, Bob Fenwick, continues with $1,112, the remnant of pulling in $1,533. Paul Long managed to raise $465 and spend $320 of it, while Andrew Williams filed a statement of no activity, leaving his coffers with $225.
Tracking such numbers has never been easier, since the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project started doing the legwork to compile financial disclosures at vpap.org for local campaigns starting in 2007.
For Bell, “When the reports come out, obviously you see how much other candidates raise because it’s important to see what resources they have, how many people are supporting them, and so on.”
Toscano appreciates the transparency. Neff concurs. “It’s important to the process that we have as much openness and accessibility as possible, that know where campaigns get their money, and what sort of special interests they might be beholden to,” she says.
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