North Little Rock's Ward 4 alderman candidates have raised and spent the most money toward Tuesday's election, according to campaign contribution and expenditure reports filed with the Pulaski County clerk.
Campaign contribution and expenditure reports from municipal candidates who are opposed and have raised or spent more than $500 were to be filed at the county clerk's office by Tuesday, one week prior to the election.
Alderman Murry Witcher, seeking a seventh term on the City Council, reported raising $13,765 -- the most of any North Little Rock municipal candidate -- and spending $955.24 through Sunday. Witcher also reported a $600 loan from himself to his campaign.
Jane Ginn, who is opposing Witcher in Ward 4, reported the highest amount of expenditures of any North Little Rock alderman candidate. Ginn listed having spent $6,646.30 against $5,892 raised in contributions. Ginn reported a $1,000 loan from herself to her campaign and also listed a $2,000 contribution from herself to the campaign.
During his last campaign in 2010, Witcher had raised $17,450 and spent $8,345, according to his 2010 report filed one week before that year's election.
Witcher's biggest contributors listed were a $1,000 donation from the Progress Political Action Committee in Little Rock and a $500 contribution from Barry Hyde, owner of Hydco Inc. in North Little Rock and the Democratic candidate for Pulaski County judge. Witcher's largest reported expenditures were $407.35 to B.E.E. Inc. for campaign materials and $200 to the North Little Rock School District for a football program ad.
Ginn's own contribution and a $2,000 contribution from Frank Fletcher, owner of the Wyndham Riverfront hotel and other businesses in North Little Rock, were the biggest donations listed for her campaign. Ginn's largest expenses were $4,617 to Margin of Victory Partners of Collierville, Tenn., for direct mailing and $1,264.12 to New Generation Printing Inc. in Jacksonville for yard signs and stakes.
Ward 2 Alderman Linda Robinson reported raising $7,200, with $4,466.12 in expenditures, in her bid for a fourth term on the City Council. Ida Emerson, her opponent, reported contributions of $2,025 with expenditures of $803.19.
The biggest contributions to Robinson's campaign were $1,000 each from Fletcher and from Fletcher's Wyndham Riverfront hotel and $500 each from Sam Hilburn, a North Little Rock attorney, and Progress Political Action Committee of Little Rock. Robinson's top expenditures listed were $1,337.53 to Kent Deloney of Little Rock for printing costs and $588 to the U.S. Postal Service for postage.
Emerson's biggest contributors were from Scott Miller, a consulting engineer in North Little Rock, for $1,000 and a $600 contribution from William Larry of North Little Rock. Emerson's expenses were listed as $450 to Mascots Printing Inc. of Olathe, Kan., for campaign T-shirts and $300 to DDS Graphics of Little Rock for campaign materials.
Alderman Steve Baxter, running for a second term in Ward 3, reported raising $2,452 and having expenditures of $2,774.70. John Parker, Baxter's opponent, didn't file a report.
Baxter's biggest contributors were $500 from the Progress Political Action Committee in Little Rock and $250 each from Stephen Morley, a North Little Rock attorney, and John Gaudin, an investment adviser in North Little Rock. The costliest expenditures have been $1,731.41 to B.E.E. Inc. of North Little Rock for yards signs and magnets and $490 to the U.S. Postal Service for postage.
Ward 1 Alderman Debi Ross and City Attorney Jason Carter are unopposed in the election.
Metro on 10/31/2014