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The candidates for Dayton mayor and commissioner answered several questions from us on issues including crime, housing and ways to improve the city as part of our 2013 Voters Guide. There are candidates and tax issues on the May 7 ballot in communities around the Miami Valley. Go to DaytonDailyNews.com/go/vote to learn more about what's on your ballot.
Leitzell sticks to low-spending pledge
Nan Whaley has raised $100,000 more than A.J. Wagner in the Dayton mayoral race the past year, while incumbent Gary Leitzell holds fast to his pledge to limit spending, according to campaign finance documents examined by the Dayton Daily News.
Thursday was the deadline to file pre-primary reports at the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
Whaley’s report showed she received $106,562 in contributions and other income since late January. That’s on top of $71,845 she had in the bank at the start of this filing period, for a total of $178,407 raised. She received $10,000 each from three unions — the Ohio arm of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Ohio arm of the Communication Workers of America and the national United Food and Commercial Workers union.
Wagner reported $24,623 in contributions and other income since late January, on top of the $50,127 he already had in the bank, for a total of $74,950 raised. His top contributors this period were retired Jefferson Twp. businessman Anthony Riggs ($5,000) and developer Jeff Samuelson ($2,000).
Leitzell, on the other hand, received just four cash contributions totaling $475, bringing his election cycle haul to $673, to go with $1,068 in in-kind services (printing, mailing, web hosting), more than half of which he paid for himself.
Months ago, Leitzell issued his “$10,000 challenge” to Whaley and Wagner, suggesting none of them spend more than $10,000 cash plus $10,000 for in-kind services on this race. Leitzell said the move would have put Dayton in a positive spotlight for taking the money out of politics. Whaley and Wagner said they couldn’t get their message out as needed for that amount.
With less than two weeks until the election, Whaley had $105,528 on hand, Wagner had $34,930 and Leitzell had $660. Whaley and Wagner are using some of that money on television ads, with Whaley’s starting to air Friday and Wagner’s on Monday, according to WHIO-TV. Campaign funds also can be carried over to the November election.
At the Jan. 31 filing, Whaley and Wagner had each spent about $11,700. In Thursday’s new filings, Wagner listed $40,020 in new spending, with $19,010 to Triumph Communication of Columbus for consulting and advertising.
Whaley spent $72,879 in the new period, with $23,440 paying the Ohio Democratic Party for a campaign staffer, and another $27,439 going to three agencies for consulting and literature.
Leitzell’s $12.83 in expenditures were entirely PayPal fees from online contributions, although he showed mailings and web site work in his $1,068 in-kind filing.
The runoff votes for both mayor and city commission in Dayton are May 7, with the top two mayoral vote-getters and top four commission vote-getters advancing to November.
Very little money was spent in the Dayton City Commission race, and none of the five candidates currently have more than $5,000 on hand.
Incumbent Joey Williams raised $5,830 and spent $1,612. Jeffrey Mims raised $3,759 and spent $4,454, mostly for yard signs. David K. Greer raised $1,300 and spent $128. David Esrati raised $3,455 and spent $2,069. Esrati and Greer joined Leitzell in the $10,000 challenge.
Joseph Lutz did not file a campaign finance report. Reports are not required for those who raise less than $1,000.
The only contributions of more than $300 to any commission candidate were to Williams — $750 from the candidate himself, $600 from Eugene Troy Singer and $500 from contractor Steve Rauch.
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