Chapel Hill elections candidates have filed their 35-day financial statements

CORRECTION: The original version of this story stated that town council candidate Lee Storrow is using the publicly funded election program. He is not. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

With the Nov. 8 election five weeks away, Chapel Hill Town Council and mayoral candidates submitted their 35-day campaign finance reports this week.

The reports show that the election season is shaping up to be very different from 2009.

Filed Tuesday to the state board of elections and made public Wednesday, the reports show a decrease in campaign contributions from 2009, which saw a competitive mayoral race between Mark Kleinschmidt and Matt Czajkowski.

But this year, the mayoral race seems to be taking a backseat as Chapel Hill Town Council candidates rake in more money than their 2009 counterparts.

Like in 2009, 12 candidates are running total. Eight candidates ran for council and four for mayor in 2009. Nine are vying for five council seats and three for mayor this election.

In 2009, the candidates for mayor and town council collectively raised nearly $37,000 by the 35-day report filing.

This year, collective contributions have decreased nearly 40 percent, with candidates raising around $23,000 by the Sept. 27 report cutoff date, according to filings and candidates.

Mayoral Race

Ferrel Guillory, a professor at UNC who specializes in local politics, said the numbers could be lower because more candidates are using a publicly funded elections program that limits individual contributions to $20.

He said the presence of an incumbent in the mayoral race, Kleinschmidt, has also changed things — in 2009, Kevin Foy’s retirement left an open seat.

In 2009, Czajkowski alone raised $17,434.

This year, as Kleinschmidt runs against newcomer Tim Sookram and four-time candidate Kevin Wolff, candidates have raised less than $300 combined, not counting loans.

Kleinschmidt said this year’s election is a “huge change” from his successful bid in 2009.

“It’s going great, but I don’t feel the need to go out and raise large sums of money from people if I don’t need it. I’m relying on this press and forums to communicate with the town,” Kleinschmidt said.

Town Council Race

Town council candidates have raised more money combined than they did in 2009, with Lee Storrow, a 2010 UNC graduate, leading all candidates in contributions at $8,602, not counting loans.

In 2009, Gene Pease led the town council field in contributions with nearly $6,000 by the 35-day report deadline.

Storrow said his campaign team is starting to make a budget and plans to put up yard signs in coming weeks.

“I’m actually really excited,” he said, “I’ve talked to a lot of friends … this is far and above my goals.”

Jon DeHart, who ran for the town council in 2009, isn’t far behind Storrow. DeHart has raised $7,786, much more than in 2009, when he had only received $300 by the 35-day report.

The next highest-raising incumbents, Czajkowski and Donna Bell, have raised about $4,000 and $1,300, respectively.

Jim Ward and Laney Dale have not raised any money this election.
“I’ll be talking to supporters and the residents of Chapel Hill whenever I have the opportunity in the next several weeks,” said Ward, who has served on the council for 12 years.

“I think voters will base their support for me on my 12 years of service, not on some postcard they get a few weeks before the election.”

Donna Bell, though an incumbent, was appointed to the council in 2009, so this is the first time she has to win resident votes.
“I can’t depend on the idea that a majority of people who vote know anything about me,” she said.

The other candidates for council – Jason Baker, Augustus Cho, Laney Dale and Carl Schuler — have all raised less than $1,000.

Schuler’s report was not posted Wednesday night, and he did not respond to phone calls.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.