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DURHAM -- City Council incumbent Cora Cole-McFadden continues to hold a fundraising lead over challenger Donald Hughes in the Ward 1 race, according to reports filed Monday with the Durham County Board of Elections.
Cole-McFadden appeared from her reports to have raised about $4,028 so far in the 2009 campaign cycle. She had about $76 left over from past races, and so could call on nearly $4,105 all told for this year's election.
She told the elections board she's spent about $2,992 of that so far, leaving her with about $1,112 going into next week's primary.
Hughes, meanwhile, reported raising almost $3,650 so far in the campaign, and said he'd spent almost $3,121. That left him with $529.
Cole-McFadden and Hughes are sharing next week's ballot with John Tarantino, who promised the elections board he'd raise and spend under $3,000. That pledge, made shortly after he filed this summer, exempted him from having to file additional reports.
The Ward 1 reports indicated that both Cole-McFadden and Hughes continue to rely on fairly small donations.
Cole-McFadden's largest donation to date is from local developer Ralph Owens, who wrote her a $1,000 check.
In her new report, she listed $250 donations from businessman Gerald Spence and nurse Tammy Linton, a $200 donation from Sanford attorney William T. Wilson Jr., and $100 checks from UDI Community Development Corp. CEO Ed Stewart, retiree Joe Parker, minister Walter Cannon and policy analyst Susan Austin.
Hughes is by far his own largest donor, having devoted $1,875 to running an assortment of Web sites to reach out to potential supporters.
He also reported getting $100 checks recently from consultant Joyce Brayboy, businessman Harry Kaestner and dentist F. Vincent Allison III.
Both candidates reported their figures through Sept. 21, and had a couple paperwork errors for viewers to sort through. Cole-McFadden's latest filing didn't include running totals for the campaign, and Hughes' listed an incorrect total for whole-campaign cash on hand.
The Ward 1 race is the only one whose reports offer a fairly detailed look at the candidates' finances.
In the Ward 2 race, incumbent Howard Clement was the only candidate to file a new report on Monday. He said he'd raised almost $3,224 -- all but $400 of it in campaigns past -- and spent only about $672. That left him about $2,551.
His recent donations included a $250 check from local developer Robb Teer Jr., and $100 from Parker.
The challengers in Ward 2 -- Matt Drew, Sandra Howell, Darius Little and Sylvester Williams -- have all promised to raise and spend less than $3,000. Howell filed a disclosure early in September, but has since told the elections board she'll stay under the limit, Elections Director Mike Ashe said.
If one of them tops the $3,000 mark, he or she will have to file reports showing where the money came from and where it went.
In the mayoral race, incumbent Bill Bell filed a report last week, well ahead of schedule, showing he's raised $2,100 this year, put it with $1,662 left over from his past campaigns, and spent only about $422.
That leaves Bell $3,340 for the rest of his campaign against challenger Steven Williams, who's taken the under-$3,000 pledge.
The mayor received a $2,000 check from Teer, and $100 from real estate appraiser Jarvis Martin.
The only other candidate who owes the elections board a report is Ward 3 incumbent Mike Woodard, who has until today to get it in. His challenger, Allan Polak, has vowed to raise and spend less than $3,000 and so is exempt from reporting.
