More than one-half million dollars has flowed into the campaign coffers for the Corpus Christi City Council election, and more than $400,000 spent — and that’s just from July 1 to Sept. 24, records show.
Leading the pack in contributions is Mayor Paulette Guajardo, who is seeking to serve a final term in the position. Her campaign finance report shows that she had received about $103,400 in contributions and spent about $50,700, with roughly $75,700 at hand for additional campaign activity.
That exceeds all available campaign reports filed by the candidates running for a spot on City Council as of the morning of Oct. 7.
Eight of the 44 candidates’ reports had not been submitted by the Oct. 5 deadline, set by the state.
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Known as a 30-day report, the public documentation covers the period of July 1 to Sept. 24. It must include the names of contributors, the amount contributed, the expenditures made and what the spending was for.
It also shows the unspent funds remaining that can be used on campaign expenses. Some, for candidates who filed a treasurer report early, have substantially more from contributions collected from the previous filing period.
At least seven candidates reported no contributions; of the seven, three reported they had made financial expenditures on their campaign.
In the mayor’s race, David Ainsworth Sr. closely followed Guajardo in spending, at about $46,600, but had far less in contributions during the reporting period at about $32,700, his campaign finance report states.
He had roughly $16,100 remaining as of Sept. 24, records show.
The campaign finance report of mayoral candidate Gil Hernandez, currently serving as District 5 representative, showed contributions of $18,350 and expenditures of about $5,300, with $34,800 remaining.
Mayoral candidate Dave Heasley reported accepting about $3,800 in contributions and spending roughly $2,600, with about $1,000 remaining.
Neither Kaylynn Paxson — current District 4 representative — nor Chelise Hyatt, both mayoral candidates, had filed their reports by the Oct. 5 deadline, as of the morning of Oct. 7, according to city officials.
Mayoral candidate John Calkusic’s campaign finance report stated he had not received or spent any money on his campaign.
The candidate with the second-highest contributions, behind Guajardo, was current at-large City Councilman Mark Scott, who is vying among 15 candidates to retain his position for the next term.
Scott’s report shows contributions of about $60,500, with about $5,800 spent and nearly $59,000 remaining.
The second-highest spender among the candidates is shown as at-large candidate Scott Corliss, narrowly behind Guajardo at about $50,300 in expenditures. His report shows donations of about $39,100 and $39,100 funds remaining.
Experts have said that, generally, campaigns for citywide races — the mayoral and at-large positions — cost more to run.
Campaign expenditures often show high costs behind consulting fees, advertisements — in combinations of online posts, billboards and traditional staked signs used in yards — as well as support staff.
The next campaign finance report — known as an eight-day report — has a deadline of Oct. 26 and covers the period of Sept. 25 to Oct. 24.
Early voting is Oct. 19 to Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi City Council campaigns raise over half-million dollars
