Campaign financial disclosure forms: Looking at county election coin

So, I spent some time looking over the campaign financial disclosure statements that were due Friday, and, well, some folks either didn’t bother to turn them. That said, they could also have sent them in registered mail so long as they're postmarked. And before anyone starts blaming Elections Administrator Cliff Rodgers, don't. He runs a pretty tight ship over there.

Anyhoo, these statements cover the period of July 1, 2013 through Jan. 15. For this entry I’m focusing only on the non-partisan school board races and some of the bigger county seats. Also note that for the most part I’m only jotting down numbers for candidates who have actually turned in nominating petitions (except in a few cases where it’s a given that they’re going to run or seek re-election).

I’ll hit up some of the other races later.

Also, keep in mind that there are some people who have raised quite a bit of coin and have probably tapped the well at this point, and there are others who haven’t even begun to rake in the bucks.

These are early numbers and don’t mean a whole lot (except in a few real obvious cases that I’ll let you figure out).

The county primary is set for May with an August general election. (For the purposes of this post, whichever candidate has the most money gets listed first. Also, unless noted, all candidates are Republicans except in the school board races, which are non-partisan, although, they're probably mostly Republicans, too.)

BOARD OF EDUCATION

District 1

• Incumbent Gloria Deathridge: Didn’t raise anything during the current reporting period but had $1,900 on hand before spending $673, which brings her to a little more than $1,221.
• Marshall Walker: Didn't file one.

 District 4

• Absher: Raised $163 and spent $15
• Jeffrey “Scott” Clark: Standing at zero with no activity

 District 6

• Terry Hill: Raised $10,650, including what looks like $6,000 in loans to herself, and spent $1,100. A couple donors of note are Steve Hill, Cathy Ackerman and Cindy Buttry. If you don’t know who they are, I can’t help you. Heh.
• Bradley Buchanan: Raised $400 (including a $200 loan) and spent $25
• Tamara Shepherd: Didn't file one.

District 7

• R. Larry Smith raised $17,500, increasing his bank roll, which already included coin from his days on the commission, to just under $27,720.
• Patti Lou Bounds raised and spent a big goose egg.

District 9 seat

• Amber Rountree collected a whopping $100.
• UPDATE: Incumbent Pam Trainor turn one in or the election commission but doesn't have to at this point. She closed out her last report with no money in the band and didn't appoint a treasurer until after Jan. 15, so she gets a pass, according to election stud Cliff Rodgers.

 SHERIFF

• Incumbent Jimmy “J.J.” Jones: The Man with the Badge boasts a “who’s Who of Donors” that is just too long to list, so click right smack here for the names. Jones raised $142,630 this period. Combine that with the $51,244 he already had in the treasure chest and the $24,390 he spent, and he’s left with ONLY $169,500.
• Bobby Waggoner: Has $16,577 on hand after raising $20,158 and spending $3,581. His report is right smack here.
• Charles “Sam” Hammett: He’s got $175 in folding paper on hand. His numbers are here.

MAYOR

• Incumbent Tim Burchett: The big dog doesn’t have much in the tank right now, but that’s not going to matter as there isn’t anyone – ANYONE – in this county that will beat him for the county mayor's seat. And you can take that one to the bank. (So long as he’s paying attention this time around.) Burchett currently has $2,940 on hand. On his last report he had $3,340. This time around he added $1,500 but spent almost $1,900. Here's his coin report right smack here.

CRIMINAL COURT CLERK

• Incumbent Joy McCroskey: She didn’t raise any money this time around but had $6,354 in the chest and spent $820, so she’s down to $5,534
• Mike Hammond: Hammond raised $2,500 this period but also transferred his commission coin – a total of $2,672 – into the pot. He then spent $4,050 on stuff like stickers, yard signs and a big ole kickoff party at Calhoun’s on the River, so now he’s got $1,120.

TRUSTEE

• Ed Shouse: Easy Ed has almost $14,600 on hand. He raised $14,375 this go-around, which he combined with another $2,200 from his time on the commission, and then reduce that by almost $2,000 in expenditures, and, well, you get the math.
• Incumbent Craig Leuthold: Leuthold has $8,075 on hand right now. He raised $8,828 this period but spent $7,430. Still, he had $6,675 in the bank from his time on the county commission. More than a couple thousands in donations came from family members. 
• James Berrier, a Democrat: He didn't file one.