Campaign finance watch: Bailey on a roll, Regan among donors
March 4, 2009 by Steve Rawley
In the only (so far) contested race for school board this May (zone 5), Scott Bailey has set the wheels in motion on what looks to be a campaign fund-raising juggernaut. He's raised over $7,000, including $250 from school board member Bobbie Regan, and spent nearly $3,000 in the two months since he kicked off his campaign fund-raising efforts.
Other donors contributing more than $100 so far include Elizabeth Marantz ($200), Donald Oman ($200), Lynn Youngbar ($200), Joan Volpert ($200), Kalyn Culler Cohen ($200), Laura Foster ($150), Leslie Comnes ($200), Robert Arnott ($1,000) and David Oberhausen ($350).
Kari Chisolm's Mandate Media, Inc., remains the number one beneficiary of Bailey's campaign spending, having pocketed $1,000 for "management services". Bailey also has campaign manager Kathy Couch on his payroll, to the tune of $900 since February 12.
Bailey's opponent, Pam Knowles, will be playing catch up, having only raised $100 to date and spent nothing. One can assume the business community will start ponying up to her campaign soon enough, and the first mailers for both candidates should start hitting your mail box within the next several weeks.
The school board election for Portland Public Schools zones 4, 5 and 6 is May 19. The filing deadline is March 19.