LEWISTON — An at-large candidate for the School Committee has raised more money than nearly all of the other candidates running for city offices in November’s election.
Zam Zam Mohamud has raised $2,769.07 in her bid for the single at-large seat for the School Committee.
That’s almost as much as the two candidates in the city’s tight mayor’s race have collected from donors.
Larry Gilbert collected $3,370 in his bid to unseat Bob Macdonald. Macdonald has raised $3,530.
The bulk of Gilbert’s fundraising has come from large donors, including Central Maine Dentistry, which donated $750 to his campaign, Peter Geiger, who donated $250 and local attorney Leonard Sharon, who donated $300. In all, 23 donors gave amounts larger than $50 to the Gilbert campaign and were listed by name in a finance report.
The campaign collected another $270 in donations of less than $50. By state law, those donors do not have to be named.
Macdonald also picked most of his campaign funds from single donors. Argo Marketing owner Jason Levesque donated $750, developer Dave Gendron donated $500, attorney Jack Clifford donated $200, former City Councilor Normand Rousseau donated $250 and Ward 4 candidate Darcy Reed donated $50. Macdonald also used $300 of his own money to finance his campaign.
By contrast, Mohamud picked up more than $1,754 in small donations. The rest came from a handful of donors, including outgoing Ward 5 City Councilor Craig Saddlemire.
Mohamud’s opponent, Cynthia Mendros, has raised $625, according to campaign finance reports filed with the City Clerk’s office.
The race to fill that Ward 5 spot is also tight. Candidate Charles Soule has spent $652 for signs, literature and advertisements to win the seat. Kristin Cloutier has spent $590.82 and Richard White has spent $200.
According to state rules, all candidates were expected to file initial reports on their fundraising and campaign spending by 4:30 p.m. Friday. Final fundraising and spending reports are due to be filed with the clerk by Dec. 18.
Nine candidates registered with the clerk saying they did not expect to spend any money in their campaign and are exempt from filing future reports.
Lewiston Candidate spending, 2013
Mayor
Laurent F. Gilbert: $3,370.00 in donations, $1,942.95 spent.
Robert E. Macdonald: $3,530.00 in donations, $2,071.08 spent.
City Council
Ward 1
John T. Butler : Exempt.
Leslie T. Dubois: $800.00 in donations, $800.00 spent.
Ward 2
Donald D’Auteuil: Exempt.
Ward 3
Nathan Libby: Exempt.
Ward 4
Darcy Reed: No report filed.
Doreen Christ: $92.25 in donations, $92.25 spent.
Ward 5
Charles A. Soule: $652.66 in donations, $652.66 spent.
Kristen Cloutier: $675.00 in donations, $590.82 spent.
Richard White: $200.00 in donations, $200.00 spent.
Ward 6
Mark Cayer: Exempt.
Ward 7
Michael Lachance: $478.46 in donations, $350.20 spent.
Richard Desjardins : No report filed.
School Committee
At large
Cindy Mendros: $625.00 in donations, $400.00 spent.
Zam Zam Mohamud: $2,769.07 in donations, $1,263.73 spent.
Ward 1
Linda M. Scott: Exempt
Ward 2
Paul St. Pierre: Exempt
Stavros Mendros:$1,000.00 in donations, $600.00 spent.
Ward 3
Trinh Burpee: Exempt
Ward 4
James R. Handy: Exempt.
Ward 6
Dawn Hartill: $242.94 in donations, $228.02
Matthew P. Roy:$1,035.00 in donations, $823.74 spent.
Ward 7
Tom Shannon: Exempt.
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