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State representative candidate Shamed Dogan, a Republican running in the south St. Louis County district being vacated by Neal St. Onge, is holding a fundraiser tonight at 6:00 PM at Mandarin, 44 Maryland Plaza, in the Central West End.
For your $25 ticket, you will receive two free drinks during the event, and Mandarin is offering specials for those who hang out afterwards.
Hubbard Fundraiser to Feature Hip-Hop and Political Heavyweights
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Monday, December 17, 2007 at 1:30 PM
State Rep. Rodney Hubbard*, a candidate for the 5th District state senate seat soon to be vacated by the term-limited Sen. Maida Coleman, is holding one of the largest political fundraisers of the year this week.
National recording artist Nelly and his band of St. Lunatics are expected to make appearances, as are hometown rappers Jibbs and Vic Damone. Local political heavyweights, former mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr.; Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce; Aldermanic President Lewis Reed; and License Collector Mike McMillan, headline the host committee.
"We're trying to really bring our region's successful young hip-hop entrepreneurs into the political arena," said Hubbard, who at 35 years-old considers himself part of the hip-hop generation.
"I appreciate the support of these artists who could spend their Thursday night anywhere in the world," said Hubbard. "To come home to St. Louis to support my senate campaign means a lot."
Congressman Lacy Clay, who has endorsed Hubbard, and Dr. Ben Chavis, former head of the national NAACP and president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, are also expected at the event. Chavis, who co-founded the Hip-Hop Summit with Russell Simmons, is a longtime supporter of Hubbard and of involving the hip-hop generation more in the political process.
The event will be Thursday night, from 9:00 until midnight, at J. Bucks, 1000 Clark Ave. in downtown St. Louis. Tickets are open to the general public at just $25. Tickets to an 8:00 VIP event are $100.
Listen to the radio commercial:
Here's the invitation. Click to enlarge.
* Rodney Hubbard is a client of A D French and Associates (campaign management)
Carpenters Endorse Steelman, Black Businessmen Throwing Fundraiser
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 6:11 PM
State Treasurer Sarah Steelman announced today that the Carpenters’ District Council of Greater St. Louis had endorsed her re-election bid.
"We don't normally endorse candidates before the filing date closes, but we decided to make an exception in this race because Sarah Steelman has demonstrated the qualities we expect from our elected officials," said Terry Nelson, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Council.
Steelman is also receiving the support of a group of St. Louis African-American businessmen.
David Stewart, of Worldwide Technology; Charles Kirkwood, of Midwestern Construction; entrepreneur and political operative Tim Person; and former state representative Sherman Parker are hosting a fundraiser for Steelman on December 12.
The event will be at the offices of Midwestern, 1415 Mullanphy, from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.
St. Louis Congressman Lacy Clay was all smiles Friday night as he and visiting House majority whip Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC) helped raised over $100,000 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The fundraiser was held at the home of Bob and Ellen Clark. Bob Clark is the founder, chairman and CEO of Clayco Construction Company.
Pictured are Lewis McKinney, an executive with Anheuser-Busch, James Clyburn and Clay.
TOO MUCH FUN INDICTING - U.S. Attorney and former Speaker of the Missouri House Catherine Hanaway says she is not going to run for Attorney General, leaving the path to the Republican nomination clear for Kirkwood Senator Mike Gibbons, who'll be making his official announcement Saturday Morning. On the Democratic side, the word is that the blue candidates (even the recently-turned-blue frontrunner Chris Koster) like their chances against Gibbons much better than Hanaway.
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS - Next week is going to be all about who's got the duckets and from whom said duckets came. After raising $121,738 in the last three months, Lt. Gov candidate Sam Page now has a reported $350,000 in the bank. After raising just $1,675 this quarter, possible state senate candidate Tom Villa now has $27K on hand. As we reported earlier, Shamed Dogan raised over $12,000 this quarter.
CALLING ALL POETS - Matt Blunt is looking for a poet laureate for Missouri, and he wants your help. Citizens have until December 1st to nominate their fellow Missourians for the position. The laureate is responsible for promoting arts in Missouri through appearances at libraries and schools. Click here to submit your favorite local wordsmith.
Missouri Attorney General candidate Margaret Donnelly is holding her first St. Louis fundraiser tonight at 8025 Maryland Avenue. The event starts at 5:30.
So far, over 150 people are co-hosting the event. The cost for the evening is $1,275 for hosts, $500 for sponsors and $250 for friends.
UPDATE: Not really the ideal way to end a fundraiser (From the Political Fix):
So packed that the event set off the fire alarm.
The ear-splitting sound came just as folks continued to eat and right before the speeches. The upshot: all those who were able had to walk down 18 flights of stairs. Donnelly, D-Richmond Heights, stayed on the roof with those who couldn’t.
Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly is known for his sharp dress and smooth style, and tonight for only $500 you too can be a Cool Cat like F.X. himself.
Daly is hosting a jazz-themed fundraiser tonight Steinberg Rink in Forest Park. Those who contribute $50 can call themselves "Hipsters"; $250 get you to the "Daddy-O" stage; and real players can skip the $500 "Cool Cat" level and jump right to "18 Karat" heights for a mere $1,275.
The shindig begins at 5:30 and ends at 7:30, which seems pretty early for hipsters and Daddy-Os.
The State Supreme Court has restored limits on campaign contributions. But it has left up in the air, at least for now, if those large donations must be returned — something that is next to impossible to fully occur considering how much money candidates have already spent (Pssst, if you haven't already spent it, do it fast!).
The court ruled in favor of Webster Groves Democrat James Trout, who filed his case challenging the lifting of limits after losing his campaign for state rep last year. We sat down with Trout back in January to talk about his lawsuit.
It's important to note that the court's ruling was unanimous and was written by conservative judge Stephen Limbaugh.
One additional thought: You can't give it back if it's already spent (hint-hint). Have you ever seen the movie "Brewster's Millions"?
Add another $1.6 million to Matt Blunt's total cash raised. After spending almost $400,000 in the last three months, the governor had about $5.8 million in the bank as of June 30.
$100,000 from the Republican Governor's Assoc. $50,000 from AT&T $50,000 from Muneer Satter, a Goldman Sachs employee in Chicago. $50,000 from Harold Simmons in Dallas, TX $10,000 here... $25,000 there... You get the picture.
Compared to Blunt's 98-page campaign finance report, Jay Nixon's 312 pages seems like a phone book. But size isn't everything and though Nixon clearly had many more individual donors, Blunt's big check writers again proved decisive.
Nixon raised a little more than half what Blunt did in the same period, roughly $950,000, but spent $50,000 more, leaving him with $2.5 million.
The A.G. Race
State Senator Mike Gibbons, candidate for Attorney General, raised $106,000, spent $43,000 and has $158,000 in the bank.
State Senator Chris Koster, another AG candidate, raised $157,000 to add to the half-million he already had in the bank. After expenses, $644,000 cash on hand.
It is a favorite political pastime to watch the financial accomplishments of those thoroughbreds of political fundraising; the Blunts, Slays and McMillans of the political world. But with the end of contribution limits, what was once a horse race is now more like NASCAR.
This post will be updated throughout the day with updated numbers. Stay tuned.
The Race for Governor
We're still waiting for Governor Matt Blunt's and Jay Nixon's July reports to post. But on his April campaign finance report, Blunt proved this was indeed a whole new world by raising $2.9 million with the help of numerous $25,000, $50,000 (one from a happy "homemaker" in Monett), and $100,000 donors.
The 5th Senate
The rumor was true, by raising an eye-popping $111,011.54 last quarter, State Rep. Rodney Hubbard* removed any doubt that he is the frontrunner in the race to succeed State Sen. Maida Coleman.
According to his report, Hubbard transferred $11,886.54 from his state rep. committee and got large donations from Rex Sinquefield ($30,000) and License Collector Mike McMillan ($10,000). Much of the rest of Hubbard's money came from dozens of $25 and $50 contributions from local supporters.
As we reported last week, State Rep. Tom Villa, who is also running, raised just $500. State Rep. Robin Wright Jones', another possible candidate, report has not been posted yet. *Hubbard is a client of A D French & Associates
UPDATE: Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder raised $347,015 last quarter, bringing his total cash on hand (after spending $36,000) to just over $400,000. Notable names on his report: Kwame Building Group ($2,000), Paul McKee and his McEagle Properties ($5,000 plus a $1,856.58 in-kind donation), and Steve Stogel ($2,000).
In an effort to make Pub Def even better, we recently announced two new internships that will allow two important and exciting things:
1) Expansion of coverage. If you think it sometimes seems like we're in two places at once, wait until we actually are!
2) Pass on our tools and techniques to a new generation of citizen journalists. We can't do this forever and someone's going to have to take the baton.
Last week Pub Def received its first donation ever via that little "Make a Donation" button to the left. It was for $75 (15% of an intern's monthly stipend). A few days later we received another unsolicited donation. This one was for $25. Together, that $100 is going to pay for about a week of coverage from a Pub Def intern! So thank you very much.
Without sounding too much like NPR, let us just point out that the Kansas City Star has just launched a for-pay political blog (subscriptions are $395 a year). We want to keep Pub Def free, but we also want to keep Pub Def around. So if you value our content, think about making a donation every now and then. Even if it's just $5 (that's 1% of an intern's stipend!), it helps.
Sitting in the corner of a busy St. Louis Bread Company, James Trout recently talked to Pub Def about his lawsuit that has resulted in Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan temporarily blocking the new ban on fundraising during the legislative session.
A hearing will be held on Friday, March 2, to determine whether to make the ban permanent and to throw out the rest of the campaign finance law, including the elimination of contribution limits.
The owners of the German-style restaurant The St. Louis Gast Haus will be hosting a fundraiser for Lewis Reed's Aldermanic President campaign next week.
Ann Sueme, and Bill, Maritza, Carmen, and Ed Stock will be hosting the event on Monday, December 11, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM at their restauranta at 1740 Chouteau. Requested contributions are between $50 and $1,275.
Organizers called tonight's first annual Landmark's Association auction a success.
The auction, which was at the Coronado on Lindell Blvd., featured items ranging from vacation getaways to a scooter that gives more than a 100 miles per gallon to a set of 10 historic postcards featuring current and former St. Louis landmarks (that one was scooped up by yours truly).
Two of the night's more political items were snatched up by two of the event's organizers.
Carolyn Toft, Landmark's director, was the highest bidder at $250 on a "behind the scenes" tour of the State Capitol by State Rep. Tom Villa (D-108). And for $150, auction organizer Marcia Behrendt was the winner of a lunch for four with former Mayor Vince Schoemehl in Grand Center.
So what is Marcia going to talk to Vince about over lunch? "I haven't had time to even think about it," she said.
Pols were busy last night, bouncing between fundraisers for Comptroller Darlene Green and Alderman (and yet unannounced candidate for Aldermanic President) Lewis Reed.
Fatigue and a too long neglected personal life wouldn't allow PUB DEF to photograph the events, but the following details were pieced together from sources in attendance.
Reed's fundraiser was hosted by the Gate District neighborhood organization at the home of its president, Mr. Steve Zeiger. And while Reed made no formal announcement of his future plans, it was clearly understood by all what endeavor the night's donations would be going to.
State Rep. Robin Wright Jones made that very clear when she introduced Reed to the crowd as "the next President of the Board."
Others spotted in the crowd included Aldermen Donna Baringer (16th Ward), Freeman Bosley, Sr. (3rd Ward), Dionne Flowers (2nd Ward), Jennifer Florida (15th Ward), Stephen Gregali (14th Ward), and Mike McMillan (19th Ward). Even former Ald. Kenny Jones came out to support his old colleague.
Committeeman Patrick Cacchione and former Congressional Aide Kacie Starr Triplett, both candidates looking to be the next alderman from the 6th Ward, were also in attendance.
Not too far away, in Forest Park, Comptroller Green was raising some cash of her own.
Spotted in the park's Norman K. Probstein Golf Center were former Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr., Aldermen Mike McMillan (busy man) and Frank Williamson (26th Ward), soon-to-be State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed (60th District), and Marlene Davis, the frontrunner to be the next alderman from the 19th Ward.
Jeff Smith, the Democratic nominee for state senator from St. Louis' 4th District, held a fundraiser Thursday at the Regional Arts Commission on Delmar Ave. just three weeks before his uncontested general election.
According to Smith's last campaign finance report, his campaign raised $268,350.06 in his August 8 primary win, more than any of his four opponents. The campaign spent $214,393.51 as of Sept 2 and had a respectable $44,567.18 left in the bank.
Aldermanic Board President Jim Shrewsbury held a fundraiser on Thursday at The Royale, a popular southside bar, and PUB DEF's camera was on the scene. See more photos from the event at www.pubdef.net/photos/shrewsbury_party.
GOP charges McCaskill with "hiding" environmental group's endorsement
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 3:22 PM
The Sierra Club recently endorsed State Auditor Claire McCaskill in her bid to unseat U.S. Senator Jim Talent, but Republicans today charged the McCaskill campaign with trying to hide her support from the pro-environment organization, which is often at odds with conservative lawmakers.
"You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep," said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party, in a press release sent out this morning. He pointed out the Sierra Club's endorsement is not among those listed on McCaskill's website.
"The McCaskill-Sierra Club agenda is clear: No to ethanol, no to farmers, no to job creation, no to private property rights, no to flood control and no to locks and dams. Claire McCaskill’s record shows she would put the interests of the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters ahead of Missouri interests. Missourians can’t afford that risk," said Sloca.
The McCaskill campaign has not yet replied to a request for comment.
Aldermanic Board President Jim Shrewsbury will be holding an "evening of political dialogue" Thursday, Sept. 21, at The Royale, 3132 S. Kingshighway. Various friends, prognosticators and characters (including Royale proprietor Steve "Iron Skillet" Smith) are promised to be in attendance. And of course, political contributions will be accepted.
Next week, the 6th Ward Democrats will be holding a fundraiser at the home of Committeeman Patrick Cacchione, 3419 Hawthorne Boulevard. The "Taste of the 6th Ward" will feature dishes from ward restaurants, including Panama Red's, The Pepper Lounge, The Tap Room, Sqwires, and Tanner B's. It all happens on Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Reminder: I will be co-hosting an event today called Tastes for Tunes: A Restaurant Event to Benefit KDHX Community Media. Restaurants throughout the St. Louis area will donate a percentage of their sales to benefit KDHX 88.1 FM and KDHX-TV (Channels 21 and 22 in the City).
I'll be at The Royale Food & Spirits, 3132 S. Kingshighway, and would love your help in supporting the cause. To do so, all you need to do is show up and eat! (Pretty easy, huh?)
Come between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. for good food, get your picture taken, whisper some tips in my ear, and help support independent community media in St. Louis.
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone that came by this afternoon. The event was an absolute success!
Special thanks to the following attendees: (soon-to-be) State Senator Jeff Smith, (soon-to-be) State Rep. Talibdin El-Amin, Pam Ross and Brandyn Jones from the President of the Board's office, prolific blogger Shark Fu (aka "Angry Black Bitch"), Sal Martinez, Tim Person, Shirley Spencer, Teachers Union Pres. Mary Armstrong, my co-host Grace Woodard and her crew from the SLU student newspaper, Jessica the waitress, and Steve Smith the proprietor.
Click here to see some great photos from the event.
Jeff Smith raised $231,024.01 and received 6,755 votes, costing him $34.20 each.
Derio Gambaro raised $180,409.77 and received 4,261 votes, costing him $42.34 each.
Yaphett El-Amin raised $161,051.16 and received 4,618 votes, costing her $34.87 each.
Amber Boykins raised $102,705.04 and received 2,360 votes, costing her $43.52 each.
Kenny Jones raised just $4,570 and received 558 votes, costing him $8.19 each.
The four campaigns spent a total of $679,759.98 to get just 18,552 people to vote. That's an average of $36.64 per vote.
Note: The above numbers are based on the last campaign finance reports submitted by each campaign and assumes that every dollar raised was indeed spent.
Calculate other races and share the results in the comments section...
Sharon Tyus has loaned her campaign another $10,000. Add that to the $15,000 that she previously loaned her campaign and the former 20th Ward alderman has quite a bit of cash in the bank in this final week of her run for state rep.
But while some see her almost entirely self-financed campaign as a sign that she's willing to put her money where her mouth is, others point to the less than $900 raised in contributions as a sign of weak support among a former constituency that has long washed their hands of the former "Mouth of the North."
Tyus' $17,000 war chest is more than double her main rival's remaining bank account. But most political watchers agree that she still has to do a lot to catch up with Jamilah Nasheed, whose campaign hit the streets early and hard starting months ago.
While Nasheed's yard signs and bumper stickers can be seen all over the 60th District, support for the former 20th Ward alderman is much less visible.
But the apparent lack of support didn't stop the Post-Dispatch from endorsing Tyus, who as an alderman was so divisive that her colleagues voted to move her ward to the other side of the city, effectively kicking her out of the legislative body.
With just six days left, only time will tell if Tyus is committed enough to her comeback campaign to actually spend the money she's loaned herself and if the people of the 60th will choose old drama or new blood.
What's the best way to spend $200,000 in eight days? That's the challenge collectively facing the four viable campaigns in the 4th District State Senate race.
According to campaign finance reports filed yesterday, Jeff Smith continues to lead the pack, adding another $14,000 to his war chest in July. Smith has over $86,000 still in the bank for this week's final push.
Derio Gambaro had the second best July fundraising with just under $14,000 raised. But the southside Democrat has only $23,551 left in his account.
On the northside, State Reps. Amber Boykins and Yaphett El-Amin combined raised less than either of their southern competitors. El-Amin raised just under $7,000, but a bad campaign finance report makes it hard to tell how much she has left in the bank. Boykins raised just $4,700 and has $52,000 left.
UPDATE 3: The campaign finance report for Shaun Simms, the husband of term-limited State Rep. and candidate of State Senate Amber Boykins, finally arrived at the offices of the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 28, nearly two weeks late. The reports shows that Simms raised $4,535 in the since January. In the last week of the reporting period, Simms made a personal loan to his campaign of $3,000.
His campaign incurred nearly $2,100 in expense for campaign signs, but had not yet paid on it, leaving the full $7,535 in the bank for the public reports.
So, for the record (on-hand/raised last quarter/loaned):
The candidates running to replace term-limited State Rep. Amber Boykins are Jamilah Nasheed, Sharon Tyus, Bob Bartlett, and Shaun Simms. Their campaign finance reports for this quarter were due April 15. Over the course of the day, the reports will be made available by the state Ethics Commission.
Bob Bartlett raised $1,300 last quarter. He spent $1,581.80. He had only $348.68 in the bank as of March 31.
UPDATE: Sharon Tyus' campaign did not recieve any contributions during the first quarter of 2006. She did however loan her campaign $15,000. After spending little more than $1,000, she has almost $14,000 cash on hand.
UPDATE 2: Jamilah Nasheed continues to increase her fundraising lead in her 60th district House race. The north St. Louis activist appears to have raised more than her three opponents combined (Shaun Simms' campaign finance report has not yet been recieved by the Ethics Commission).
During the first quarter of 2006, Nasheed raised nearly $9,000, bringing her total amount raised to nearly $22,000. After spending $3,066, she ended the quarter with $16,208 in the bank.
Nasheed's contributors included Darryl Piggee, aide to Congressman Lacy Clay; Attorney Donnell Smith; developer Clayco; the Pipefitters Union, and the 58th Legislative Democratic Committee (which also gave to State Rep. Rodney Hubbard and State Senate candidate Yaphett El-Amin).
'Legal money laundering' helps fund Missouri political campaigns
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Saturday, April 29, 2006 at 9:52 AM
State law places limits on how much an individual can give to a candidate's committee. It is also a crime to attempt to hide the source of a contribution by funneling it through a middle man. But a story published yesterday in the Southeast Missourian highlights the creative ways political campaigns use to raise cash -- expecially when it comes to local party committees like the ward organizations which exist in every St. Louis City ward.
Prior to 1994, local party committees were a backwater of Missouri politics, established by law but with few duties except to pick new candidates when a ballot vacancy occurred as a result of death or withdrawal. But when a law limiting campaign donations took effect, the importance of local party committees was magnified by a provision allowing them to become a source of large contributions.
In fact, ward organizations and party committees can donate up to 20 times the amount that any other kind of entity can.
Rudi Keller, who wrote the Missourian story, pointed out how this loophole in the law was exploited in the 2004 Governor's race.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Claire McCaskill received more than 130 donations from local party committees in the days after her primary victory over incumbent Gov. Bob Holden. The money, most of which was donated in $12,000 amounts, replenished her depleted treasury for the fall campaign.
And Republican Matt Blunt, who won the 2004 race, received 65 large local party committee donations -- many for approximately $12,000 -- during the last week of the campaign, a rush of money that helped pay for the crucial final push.
In St. Louis, we've also seen this stategy play out in the pages of candidate's campaign finance reports.
The 58th Democratic Legislative Distric Committee, a committee associated with State Rep. Rodney Hubbard (D-58th District), raised $11,000 last quarter. The committee then donated $6,000 to the state senate campaign of Yaphett El-Amin (five times the limit on contributions from individuals), $650 to the state rep campaign of Jamilah Nasheed (twice the limit for individuals), and $1,500 to the candidate committee of Hubbard himself (nearly five times the limit for individuals).
According to campaign finance reports for Mike McMillan's license collector committee, the 58th DLDC also contributed $1,275 to his campaign. But that contribution is not noted on the PAC's expenditures report.
Also on McMillan's report is a series of $1,275 contributions from entities known as "PIC I," "PIC II," "PIC V,""PIC VI," "PIC VII," and "PIC VIII." All share the same physical address: 906 Olive Street, Suite 600. That matches the address two other McMillan contributors, Steller Properties and Pyramid Contruction. The eight entities contributed almost $9,000 to McMillan's campaign on the final day of the last reporting period.
Developer John Steffen's Pyramid Construction, Pyramid Commercial Contracting LLC, and PIC, Inc. also donated a total of $3,825 to the campaign of Mayor Francis Slay on March 9, according to campaign finance reports.
Urbanist and blogger Steve Pattersonrecently wrote an article examining Steffen and Pyramid's influence on decisions made by Ald. Jennifer Florida (15th Ward) relating to a controversial McDonald's development on South Grand Ave. Patterson noted that contributions from Pyramid's companies and employees totaled nearly seven times the limit for individuals.
Click here to read Keller's insightful story in the Southeast Missourian.
Mayor's committee raising (and spending) big dollars
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, April 20, 2006 at 9:01 PM
Mayor Francis Slay's campaign committee raised $163,300 in the first three months of 2006. After doling out $115,000, he closed the quarter with nearly $270,000 in the bank.
As of March 31, Slay for Mayor had paid nearly $18,000 to Cardinals Ballpark LLC for season tickets, $22,000 to Richard Callow's Public Eye, Inc. for "communication advice," and nearly $24,000 to Neil Swanson, of Kansas City, for expenses related to the mayor's website.
As we reported earlier, the Mayor also made a $40,000 loan to a political action committee backing Darnetta Clinkscale and James Buford for school board.
The candidates seeking to replace term-limited State Sen. Pat Dougherty are Yaphett El-Amin, Jeff Smith, Derio Gambaro, Amber Boykins, and Kenny Jones. Their campaign finance reports for this quarter were due April 15. Over the course of the day, the reports will be made available by the state Ethics Commission.
Jeff Smith, who has led the race for dollars from the start of this contest, raised another $42,000 in the last three months. His campaign now has nearly $130,000 in the bank.
UPDATE: Amber Boykins reported raising more than $21,000 in the first quarter of 2006, including: a $3,000 in-kind donation from the Missouri Democratic Party, $650 each from political action committees called Women About Reform Movement and Loft PAC, $650 from developer Mary "One" Johnson, $650 from state rep candidate Joe Palm, $300 from consultant Tim Person, $300 from 21st Ward Ald. Bennice Jones King, $100 from Board Pres. Jim Shrewsbury, and $100 from a company called "Brown Ass."
After spending $6,763.78, Boykins' campaign had almost $59,000 in the bank as of March 31.
UPDATE 2: Looks like "Brown Ass" is short for a firm called Brown and Associates. The company's office is located in the Chase Park Plaza. The Boykins campaign has amended its report.
UPDATE 3: Yaphett El-Amin now has more than $84,500 in the bank after raising $50,000 since January.
UPDATE 4: Derio Gambaro raised more than $32,500 last quarter (including $3,100 in in-kind donations). After spending more than $37,000, his campaign had $32,243 in the bank on March 31.
Kenny Jones formed his campaign committee after the reporting period for the April 15th reports and therefore will not be filing a report for the period.
So the ranking of the candidates' war chests shapes up like this:
1. Jeff Smith ($130,000) 2. Yaphett El-Amin* ($84,500) 3. Amber Boykins ($59,000) 4. Derio Gambaro ($32,000) 5. Kenny Jones (N/A)
*State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin had the best fundraising quarter of the five candidates, raising over $50,000 since January.
The candidates seeking to replace State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin, who is running for state senate, are Joe Palm, Karla May and Talibdin El-Amin (husband). Their campaign finance reports for this quarter were due April 15. Over the course of the day, the reports will be made available by the state Ethics Commission.
Joe Palm loaned his campaign $5,000. He raised just $750 over the last three months (including $325 from a committee formed by State Rep. Rachel Storch when she was mulling a run for state senate). At the end of March, Palm's committee had $3,400 in the bank.
UPDATE: Talibdin El-Amin has $8500 in the bank after raising $10,625 since January. Contributors included State Rep. Rodney Hubbard's campaign committee, AT&T's political action committee, and Ald. Jeffrey Boyd.
Ald. Mike McMillan raised $176,710 over the last three months, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday. Add another $13,000 in in-kind donations and the total amount raised climbs to over $190,000.
After spending $56,000, McMillan had $236,106.14 cash on hand in his campaign to become License Collector.
McMillan's Democratic opponent in the August primary election is Ken Griffey. The winner of that match-up will face Republican Pat Herod in November. Neither Griffey or Herod have yet filed campaign reports.
State Rep. Maria Chappelle Nadal raised $1,475 during the first quarter of 2006. After spending over $1,800, her campaign had nearly $4,800 in the bank.
University City Councilwoman Sandi Colquitt, who is challenging Nadal after losing to her by less than 200 votes in 2004, has not yet filed her campaign report.
State representative candidate Shamed Dogan, a Republican running in the south St. Louis County district being vacated by Neal St. Onge, is holding a fundraiser tonight at 6:00 PM at Mandarin, 44 Maryland Plaza, in the Central West End.
