Some interesting trends are emerging in the latest campaign contribution reports for Tacoma’s mayor and council races.
In the mayor’s contest, longtime architect Jim Merritt is getting good money from the building industry and private developers, while Marilyn Strickland has gotten support from the Tacoma police union and the local Master Builders’ PAC, as well as many of her colleagues at City Hall.
The big money in the council races is being thrown at the at-large contest between Keven Rojecki, a SeaTac firefighter who lives in Tacoma, and MetroParks commissioner Victoria Woodards. Rojecki is getting aid from his brethren in the firefighting PACs and unions, while Woodards is raking in some solid dough from other labor unions.
Below are some figures I’ve compiled from the Public Disclosure Commission’s online filings. Note: The top contributors category I’ve listed for each candidate is for one-time single donations. I’ve yet to compile each candidate’s top donors in terms of aggregate contributions. Stay tuned…
Tacoma Mayor:
Jim Merritt
Raised: $93,985.27
Spent: $71,378.95
Top 3 single contributions
1. Builders United in Legislative Development $3,000
2. Jeffrey Lyon (President, Kidder Matthew) $2,500
3. Keith Stone (LKS Construction) $1,170
Other contributors of note: Jack Connelly, William Weyerhaeuser, Dawn Lucien, Tom Absher.
Marilyn Strickland
Raised: $88,186.11
Spent: $40,183.33
Top 3 single contributions
1. Tacoma Police Union $5,000
2. Lea J. Armstong (Armstrong Uniserve Inc), $3,000
T3. Lea J. Armstrong (Armstrong Investments, LLC) $2,000
T3. Pierce Co. Affordable Housing Council, $2,000
T3. Inmin Strickland (Retired) $2,000
Other contributors of note: Brian Ebersole, Thomas Dixon, Norman LeMay, Lyle Quasim.
Tacoma City Council:
District 4
Marty Campbell
Raised: $43,280.37
Spent: $38,980.61
Top 3 single contributions:
1. Peter Whitley (New Tacoma Design, Art Designer) $1,500 (for web and graphics design)
T2. Active in Democracy $1,000
T2. Columbia Communications $1,000
T2. Thompson & Smitch Consulting $1,000
T2. IBEW Local 483 PAC $1,000
T2. Joint Labor Committee of Tacoma $1,000
T2. Buzzard Inc. 8 different single donations of $1,000 each (for office space)
Roxanne Murphy
Raised: $10,110.00
Spent: $9,237.40
Top 3 contributions:
1. Tacoma Police Union $1,000
2. Steve Naccarato (self employed) $250
T3. Washington St. Women’s Caucus $100
T3. Folsom Family Real Property Trust $100
T3. David Shelnut, $100
T3. Karl Hossman (self employed) $100
T3. Puget Sound Pizza, $100
T3. William Pugh, $100
Tacoma City Council
District 5
Joe Lonergan
Raised: $11,051.00
Spent: $7,646.16
Top 3 single contributions:
1. Michael Lonergan (City Councilman) $1,000
2. Karl Anderson (Concrete Tech, engineer) $500
3. Thomas Lomis (Bill’s Towing) $350
Beckie Summers-Kirby
Raised: $17,580.57
Spent: $15,086.78
Top 3 single contributions:
T1. Active In Democracy $1,000
T1. Active In Democracy $1,000
T1. IBEW Local 483 PAC $1,000
T1. Joint Labor Committee of Tacoma $1,000
T1. Tacoma Police Union $1,000
Tacoma City Council
At large
Keven Rojecki
Raised: $71,131.51
Spent: $21,064.81
Top 3 single contributions:
1. International Association of Firefighters FIREPAC – Non-Federal $2,500
2. Citizens For Better Government $2,000
3. SEATAC Firefighters – $1,200
Victoria Woodards
Raised: $56,455.22
Spent: $28,565.79
Top 3 single contributions:
1. IBEW Local 483 PAC $2,000
2. Pierce County Affordable Housing Council $1,500
T3. Steven Hatcher (City of Tacoma, manager) $1,000
T3. Tacoma Police Union, $1,000
T3. Teamsters Local 117, $1,000
Update: Realtor George Pilant, a former 27th District legislative candidate and supporter of Victoria Woodards, emailed me to take issue with my original description in this post of Keven Rojecki as “Tacoma firefighter Keven Rojecki.” My lower case description meant to indicate that Rojecki is a firefighter who lives in Tacoma (i.e., “Tacoma man”). But to clarify: Rojecki is employed by the City of SeaTac, not the Tacoma Fire Department. I’ve since changed the post to specifically reflect that.