WILMINGTON — With primary elections wrapped up, many will be looking forward to the 2020 general election. But now’s also a good time to look back at last year’s municipal election, particularly when it comes to campaign finance.
Why now?
The main reason is this: the final two weeks of campaign finances are not reported until after the election. These finances are covered in the ‘year end’ report, which was due by the end of January. However, in New Hanover County, some year-end reports were not available until the end of last week, according to Elections Director Rae Hunter Havens. To date, some candidates that did not win have not turned in year-end reports at all.
Candidates raise, and spend, tens of thousands of dollars in the missing two-week period; without the year-end reports, it’s hard to get a complete picture of campaign finance’s role in the election. Now that the reports are (mostly) in, it’s easier to take a closer look.
Wilmington election, by the numbers
Here’s the big-picture breakdown of the spending in the city council election
- Total spent: $165,543 ($57,343 for mayoral, $108,200 for council)
- Total spent in last two weeks: $72,778
- Total raised from individuals: $157,069 ($67,705 for mayoral, $89,364 for council)
- Total raised from political committees: $16,350
The top spender was Mayor Bill Saffo, who spent $46,475 on the race (nearly half of that in a final push in late October). That’s considerably more than the city’s longest-serving mayor has spent in recent years (about $9,100 in 2017, $3,400 in 2015, and no records of expenditures in 2013). However, it wasn’t Saffo’s most expensive race: in 2011 Saffo spent $52,000 in his campaign against challenger Justin LaNasa, and two years earlier he spent over $118,000 facing challenger Paul Knight).
Saffo was followed by Neil Anderson, who narrowly defeated fellow incumbent Paul Lawler by five votes; Anderson spent a total of $39,145 to Lawler’s $23,258. Anderson spent the most in the final two-week push — over $30,000. Anderson spent similar amounts in 2015.
[Note: Included in this article, you can find more detailed breakdowns of each candidate’s campaign finances, including top donators, political committee donations, and top expenditures.]
Where the money came from…
Political committees spent money on several candidates, with the NC Realtors and NC Homebuilders PAC being the most active. Both donated to the campaigns for Saffo, Anderson, and Mayor Pro-Tem Margaret Haynes. The Realtors PAC also donated to Lawler and newcomer Scott Monroe, who was supported by two political committees that support firefighters.
On the whole, however, the vast majority of the money in the 2019 election came from individual contributions.
Saffo, Haynes, and Anderson also benefitted from sizeable individual contributions, including local and out-of-state developers. Other candidates, including Lawler, accumulated more lower-denomination donations. Mayoral candidate Devon Scott, while securing one large donation from a local business founder, powered his campaign almost completely on small donations, so many that processing fees for small online donations made up a noticeable portion of his campaign expenses.
It’s worth noting that state law limits individual donations to $5,400 per person, but in some cases family members or business associates donated to the same candidate.
…and where it went
With the exception of Kevin Spears, who spent comparatively little on his campaign, the winners — Saffo, Haynes, and Anderson — all spent considerable funds on consulting (Saffo and Anderson have both spent over $10,000 during this election cycle).
Saffo spent the most on media buys, sinking over $14,000 into producing and airing two television commercials. Anderson spent slightly less than that on cable TV and radio buys, while Haynes stuck to radio and print.
But the highest ticket item wasn’t television or radio ads — it was printed mailers. Collectively candidates spent over $57,000 on mailers. Nearly $37,500 of that was all for one company, The Media Corporation, which appears to be run out of a residence in Asheville.
What the numbers show
Financial figures in the year-end and other campaign finance reports from 2019 show donations and expenditures for candidates and sometimes cover multiple years. For incumbents, the ‘election cycle’ usually starts on January 1 of the first year of their current term. For candidates that ran previously, the election cycle usually starts on January 1 of the year of their most recent campaign. For new candidates, the cycle begins on January 1 of the year of the election.
For all candidates, the majority of fundraising and expenditures occur in the months leading up to the election, often with a significant portion occurring in the last several weeks.
Election results refresher
Below were the results of the 2019 Wilmington City Council and Mayoral elections. Note that Alexandria Monroe dropped out of the race shortly after filing (although she showed up on the ballot and received over 1,000 votes). Both Monroe and Matt Thrift (who disappeared from public conversation and declined to answer campaign questions) raised under the threshold for campaign financing reporting.
| NAME ON BALLOT | PARTY | BALLOT COUNT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Saffo | 7,709 | 51.63% | |
| Devon M. Scott | 7,079 | 47.41% | |
| Write-In (Miscellaneous) | 142 | 0.95% |
| CITY OF WILMINGTON COUNCIL MEMBER (VOTE FOR 3) Precincts Reported: 27 of 27 | View Contest Details | ||
| NAME ON BALLOT | PARTY | BALLOT COUNT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Haynes | 6,549 | 16.45% | |
| Kevin Spears | 5,703 | 14.33% | |
| Neil Anderson | 5,441 | 13.67% | |
| Paul Lawler | 5,435 | 13.65% | |
| Scott Monroe | 5,219 | 13.11% | |
| Kimberly Spader | 4,117 | 10.34% | |
| Harry Smith, Jr. | 3,163 | 7.95% | |
| Alexandria Monroe | 1,484 | 3.73% | |
| Mack Coyle | 1,373 | 3.45% | |
| Matt Thrift | 1,148 | 2.88% | |
| Write-In (Miscellaneous) | 172 | 0.43% |
Mayoral race
*Note: For all donations and expenditures, sources are local unless noted.
Bill Saffo (Vassilios Avgerinos Saffo)
Committee name: Bill Saffo for Mayor
- Total donations: $55,375 (individual), $3,250 (political committee)
- Total expenditures: $46,475.99 ($24,861 in last two weeks)
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $7,082.57 – $19,346.58
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top political committee donations
- COREPAC (Corning Inc. Employees PAC), Washington, DC – $1,000
- NC Homebuilders, Raleigh – $1,000
- NC Realtors PAC, Greensboro – $1,250
Top individual donations
- Alex Choquette, President, Anchor Management, North Hampton, NH – $5,400
- Charles ‘Chuck’ Schoninger, Owner, USA Invest Co., Wilmington – $3,000
- Steve Anderson, Developer – $2,000
- Warren Bailey, Christopher Bailey, Developers, Jacksonville, NC – $1000, each
- Joseph McKinney, Jr., Real Estate investor, construction – $1,500
Top expenditures
- Campaign consulting, McColl & Associates – $10,500
- Campaign mailers, The Media Corporation, Asheville, NC – $9,653.75
- TV commercials, WECT – $9,061
- Commercial production, Carolina Video Edit Center – $5,000
Devon Scott (Devon Michael Scott)
Committee name: Devon for Wilmington*
- Total donations: $12,330 (individual)
- Total expenditures: $10,867
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $0 – $1,462.87
- Find campaign finance reports here
*Scott’s committee did not final a year-end report, so the expenditures and donations for the last two weeks are not available.
Top individual donations
- Joseph Finley, co-founder CastleBranch and tekMountain – $4,500
- Nancy Beauchemin – $525
- Nicholas Tarantino – $500
Top expenditures
- Campaign billboard, Lamar Media – $4,095
- Campaign signs, bumperstickers, Signs on the Cheap – $2,781
- Flyers, Canva – $2,150
- Online donation processing fees – $563
City Council race
Neil Anderson (Zollie Neal Anderson III), incumbent
Committee name: Anderson for Council Campaign
- Total donations: $34,981.42 (individual), $4,500 (political committee)*
- Total expenditures: $39,145.07 ($30,297.85 in last two weeks)
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $5,830.22 – $3,306.57
- Find campaign finance reports here
*Anderson’s committee reported finances from January 1, 2016, as the current election cycle. Most of the donations and expenditures were in the months leading up to the election, but in some cases the totals are higher than listed above when factoring in all transactions since 2016.
Top political committee donations
- NC Homebuilders, Raleigh – $1,500
- NC Realtors PAC, Greensboro – $4,500 (since 2016, $2,500 this cycle)
- Committee to Elect Michael Lee – $500
Top individual donations
- James Mahan, Live Oak Band – $6,000 (since 2016, $4,000 this cycle)
- Anna Maynard (Maynard development family) – $4,500 (since 2016)
- Paul Parker, PCP Consulting – $3,000
- Steve Anderson, Commercial developer – $2,500
- Jeffery Kentner, Developer, Charlotte – $2,500
- Charles ‘Chuck’ Schoninger, Developer $1,500
Top expenditures
- Campaign consulting, Compass Group – $2,500 ($16,966 since 2016)
- Social media / Cable TV ad buys, Firelux – $6,100 ($11,200 since 2016)
- Campaign mailers, Point 1, Charleston, SC – $17,991.70
- Campaign texting – Manual Dial Company, Arlington TX – $1,558.44
- News outlet advertising – Star News – $798, Wilmington Journal – $630, Wilmington Business Journal – $576, Port City Daily – $480
Mack Coyle
Committee name: The Committee to Elect Mack Coyle*
*Coyle’s committee did not final a year-end report, so the expenditures and donations for the last two weeks are not available.
- Total donations: $820 (individual)
- Total expenditures: $402
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $520 – $495.02
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top individual donations
- Joan Hancock – $700
- Mark Wagner – $200
Top expenditures
- None listed
Margaret Haynes, incumbent
Committee name: Haynes for Council
- Total donations: $23,880.09 (individual), $2,500 (political committee)
- Total expenditures: $28,035.23 ($7,187 in last two weeks)
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $2,146.73 – $296.59
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top political committee donations
- NC Homebuilders, Raleigh – $1,500
- NC Realtors PAC, Greensboro – $1,000
Top individual donations
- Roy Carroll, Developer, Greensboro – $1,000
- Mike McCarley, Owner, Carolina Marine Terminal – $1,000
- Scott Sullivan, Investor, Cameron Management – $1,000
- David Swain, Developer – $500
- Charles ‘Chuck’ Schoninger, Developer – $500
Top expenditures
- Campaign mailers, The Media Corporation, Asheville, NC – $9,950
- Campaign consulting, Anna Nunn – $2,052, June Cradick – $1,000
- Radio advertisement – Cumulus media $1,000, Sunrise Broadcasting $1,000, Local Voice Media – $480
- Campaign texting – Manual Dial Company, Arlington TX – $1,558.44
- News outlet advertising – Star News – $798, Wilmington Journal – $630, Wilmington Business Journal – $576, Port City Daily – $480
Paul Lawler, incumbent
Committee name: Elect Paul Lawler
- Total donations: $17,416.25 (individual), $1,250 (political committee)
- Total expenditures: $23,257.61 ($4,817.23 in last two weeks)
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $2,346.36 – $0.00
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top political committee donations
- NC Realtors PAC, Greensboro – $1,250
Top individual donations
- Russel Wine, retired – $750
- Garry Massey, CPA – $500
- Dennis Dixon, retired – $500
Top expenditures
- Campaign mailers, The Media Corporation, Asheville, NC – $17,166.49
- Website – $1,189
- Advertisement, Wilmington Journal – $315
Scott Monroe
Committee name: Scott Monroe for City Council
- Total donations: $10,906.25 (individual), $4,850 (political committee)
- Total expenditures: $13,824.48 ($5,614.82 in last two weeks)
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $0 – $1,986.77
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top political committee donations
- NC Fire PAC, Kernersville – $2,600
- NC Realtors PAC, Greensboro – $1,250
- International Association of Fire Fighters, New York – $1,000
Top individual donations
- Colin Heffron, CEO GFI Group (brokerage, investment), New York – $5,000
- Scott Monroe (self) – $3,500
- Jean Monrow, (‘never employed’), VA – $1,000
Top expenditures
- Campaign mailers, The Media Corporation, Asheville, NC – $2,725
- Campaign texts, American Technology Consulting, VA – $2,141
- Campaign consulting, Crawford James, GA – $1,500
- Facebook – $1,422.65
- Social Media, Chase Creative – $1,083
- Media Advertising, Local Voice Media – $980
Harry Smith, Jr.
Committee name: Elect Harry Smith
- Total donations: $900 (individual)
- Total expenditures: $729.58
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $700 – $0
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top individual donations
- All donations were $250 or less
Top expenditures
- Campaign signs, Austin, TX – $729.58
Kimberly Spader
Committee name: Kimberly Spader
- Total donations: $202.35
- Total expenditures: $202.35
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $0 – $0
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top individual donations
- Kimberly Spader (self) – $202.35
Top expenditures
- Facebook – $100
Kevin Spears
Committee name: Committee to Elect Kevin Spears for City Council
- Total donations: $277.46
- Total expenditures: $2,604.74 ($0 in last two weeks)
- Cash on hand (start-finish): $1,545.39 – debt of $780.89
- Find campaign finance reports here
Top individual donations
- Aggregate of small (under $100) donations
Top expenditures
- Campaign flyers, pens, signs, buttons – under $500 each
