The cost of dueling for control of Hamilton County’s legislative branch has passed the $1.3 million mark, far outpacing the money raised and spent toward other county elections next Tuesday.
Campaign finance reports filed last week with the county Board of Elections show dollar amounts given to County Commission candidates that rival the fundraising of state-level offices. Leading the way is the commission race between Democrat Denise Driehaus and Republican Dennis Deters. Between them they have received $1.04 million in contributions to their campaigns.
Driehaus, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives since 2009, received $598,494 to Deters’ $445,035 as of Oct. 19. But Deters overcame a big Driehaus head start and outraised her $361,495 to $347,049 since prior campaign finance reports were filed April 22. He joined the commission in January when Greg Hartmann resigned to give Deters an incumbency advantage.
The dollar amounts in county election campaigns fall off fast from there. Incumbent commissioner Todd Portune, a Democrat, raised $206,349, compared to Republican challenger Andrew Pappas’ $112,085. Pappas, an Anderson Township trustee since 2013, nearly matched Portune in fundraising since April, but he was at a severe disadvantage in cash-on-hand as of Oct. 19 — $1,439 versus Portune’s $53,856.
Of the constitutional offices, the clerk of courts race is attracting the most money. Republican incumbent Tracy Winkler’s intake of $100,482 so far is less than a third of the $310,024 received by Democratic challenger Aftab Pureval, a Procter & Gamble attorney. Pureval has been spending a greater percentage of his war chest, though, and Winkler had $71,655 on hand to Pureval’s $23,157 with three weeks left before the Nov. 8 election.
In the race for sheriff, Democratic incumbent Jim Neil has not only outraised Republican challenger Gary Lee, but had twice the cash balance as of Oct. 19. Neil raised $122,647 compared with Lee’s $92,163. After expenditures, he had $64,136 on hand, Lee $28,477. Lee is a former Cincinnati police captain.
Fundraising for the Hamilton County prosecutor’s race has been a mismatch. Republican incumbent Joe Deters raised $111,875 as of Oct. 19, his Democratic challenger, Alan Triggs, $14,833.
In the recorder’s race, retired Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel, a Republican, reported total contributions of $63,876, but also loan debt of $70,000. Wayne Coates, the Democratic incumbent, raised $35,340 and has a loan balance of $25,000.
In the race for county treasurer, Democratic challenger Seth Walsh, executive director of the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., received $49,576 in contributions as of Oct. 19, almost two thirds greater than the $30,697 reported by Republican incumbent Robert Goering. Both had cash balances of more than $21,000 going into the final weeks of their campaigns.
Finally, incumbent coroner Lakshmi Sammarco has raised more than four times the money that her challenger, Bret Bruder, has. Sammarco reported contributions of $55,170, compared with Bruder’s $12,464. She had barely touched it as of Oct. 19, showing a cash balance of $47,475.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 2, 2016.
