FAYETTEVILLE -- Final campaign finance reports for the city's elections show it may not take money to get votes but it sure does take money to win.
Municipal candidates had to file a final campaign contribution and expenditure report by 4:30 p.m. Dec. 30 regardless if they ran opposed or raised or spent any money. A similar pre-election report was due Nov. 1.
The vote
Official results from the Nov. 8 election:
Mayor
Lioneld Jordan — 22,929 (70 percent)
Tom Terminella — 8,967 (27 percent)
Ron Baucom — 1,074 (3 percent)
Ward 1
Sarah Marsh — 4,661 (66 percent)
Paul Phaneuf — 2,420 (34 percent)
Ward 2
Matthew Petty — 3,505 (60 percent)
Gary McHenry — 1,205 (21 percent)
Adam Fire Cat — 1,140 (19 percent)
Ward 3
Sarah Bunch — 4,198 (48 percent)
Tracy Hoskins — 3,131 (36 percent)
Benjamin Harrison — 1,356 (16 percent)
Ward 4
Alan Long — 4,402 (56 percent)
Nathan Allen — 3,514 (44 percent)
Official results from the Nov. 29 runoff:
Ward 3
Sarah Bunch — 1,234 (63 percent)
Tracy Hoskins — 732 (37 percent)
Source: Washington County Election Commission
Mayor Lioneld Jordan raised more money and spent less than challenger Tom Terminella. Jordan collected $40,252 in contributions and devoted $39,551 to his campaign. Terminella received $35,515 in contributions and spent $53,283 on his bid for mayor. He loaned himself $17,768 to cover the gap.
Jordan ended his filing period with $1,694 in the bank. Terminella had a zero balance.
Jordan won re-election with 22,929 votes. Terminella received 8,967 votes. Former Wal-Mart employee Ron Baucom, who spent $88 on his campaign, received 1,074 votes.
The reports show the candidates' efforts in the final push of their campaigns before the Nov. 8 election. After turning in his pre-election report due Nov. 1, Jordan spent $13,537 and raised $1,319. Jordan raised $650 during a fundraiser at Maxine's Tap Room and $669 coming from contributions smaller than $50, according to his report.
Jordan spent $7,077 on radio advertising and $6,460 in newspaper advertisements in the last stretch of his campaign.
Terminella received a $500 donation from D.C. Goff on Nov. 7, his sole contribution after filing his pre-election report. He reported an additional $12,950 in expenditures, including $9,432 to Axiom Strategies in Kansas City, Mo., and paying campaign workers $625.
Both Jordan and Terminella turned in their final reports late. Jordan turned in his report Jan. 6, while Terminella filed his Jan. 5. Baucom turned in his report Dec. 29.
Washington County Clerk Becky Lewallen said it's not unusual for some candidates to miss the final campaign finance report deadline.
"They're not due immediately; they have so much time, and then they put it off, and it doesn't get done. It does tend to be forgotten," she said. "Some of them think that they're unopposed so they don't have to turn one in, but for the final report, everyone has to turn one in."
In the City Council races, seven of the nine candidates turned in their final reports by deadline. Developer Tracy Hoskins, who lost the Ward 3 seat to real estate agent Sarah Bunch in the Nov. 29 runoff, filed his report Jan. 4.
Nathan Allen, who ran unsuccessfully against Ward 4 Alderman Alan Long, turned in his form Thursday.
Gary McHenry, who lost his bid against Ward 2 Alderman Matthew Petty, had not turned in his report as of Friday afternoon.
Adam Fire Cat, who dropped out of the Ward 2 race because he lives in Ward 4, filed a report Nov. 29. He did not raise or spend any money and gained 1,140 votes -- only 65 fewer votes than McHenry, who actively campaigned.
The council's incumbent candidates, Sarah Marsh of Ward 1, Petty and Long spent a combined $19,038 to get re-elected and collected $17,964 in donations. Long's campaign far outweighed his fellow incumbents, raising $9,410 and spending $10,851. He loaned himself $1,441 to achieve a zero balance.
Bunch, between the general election and runoff, received $9,595 in contributions and spent $9,236. She made a $358 donation to Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families with the surplus and loaned herself $500 during the campaign.
Bunch won the seat in a runoff after she faced Hoskins and youth minister Benjamin Harrison in the general election.
Paul Phaneuf, who ran against Marsh for the Ward 1 seat, raised the most money of any City Council candidate with $10,750 in contributions. Notable contributors included Alderman John La Tour of Ward 4 and his wife, who contributed a combined $3,700. Jim Bob Duggar made a $2,000 donation. Phaneuf spent $10,772 on his campaign and received 2,420 votes compared to Marsh's 4,661 votes. Marsh spent and raised $4,755.
Hoskins spent the most of any candidate at $15,641 between the general election and runoff. He raised $6,201 and loaned himself $9,800.
NW News on 01/16/2017