Norfolk ward 7 fundraising reports

Friday was the filing deadline for financial reports covering 9/1-9/30 and three of the four candidates in the special election for Norfolk’s ward 7 filed electronically. Those reports were available just after 5pm on the State Board of Elections website. Some interesting things in the numbers:

• Earl Fraley raised $2,870 in cash from 19 contributors , including $1,000 from George Vincent, a real estate manager. (The Virginian-Pilot article missed this.) Fraley also loaned his campaign $500 and he had $2,425 on hand. His expenditures show a deposit for yard signs but not the balance and the campaign reports no debts on Schedule F. Unless I am mistaken, I saw yard signs for him prior to September 30.
• Phillip Hawkins raised $2,145 from 30 contributors, including $1,000 from Daun Hester, the former Ward 7 representative. Hawkins edged Fraley with the most money on hand – $2,436 – at September 30.
• Angelia Williams raised $2,725 in cash from 7 contributors, including $1,000 from James Hixon of Norfolk Southern. She also spent the most – $3,741 – including $1,500 for office rent. At September 30, she had $126 on hand. There is no expenditure for yard signs nor is there a debt listed on Schedule F.  I saw her signs, which have to be paid for in advance, on October 2 at the NAACP dinner. Also missing from the report is the luncheon hosted for her by Mayor Paul Fraim. Finally, the report shows no previous receipts (schedule H, line 22), even though there were some. I’m guessing this report will be amended.

As he did not file electronically, I cannot give you specifics on the report of Jimmie Wilson. According to The Virginian-Pilot, Wilson raised $1,710, spent $3,198 and had $436 on hand. Based on the other reporting in the article, if there were in-kind donations or loans, those amounts are included in these figures.  I hope to have more detail once VPAP posts these reports. Or, if someone from the Wilson campaign wants to fax me a copy, I’d be happy to update this 😉 (For that matter, if the campaign needs help with the reporting and would like to file electronically, I’d be happy to help with that, too.)

UPDATE: I have obtained a copy of Jimmie Wilson’s report. It shows that the $1,710 he raised was all in cash, from 28 contributors. His largest expenditure was for yard signs, which cost $1,513.  I did not see anything else of note in his report.

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The paper’s Norfolk insert, “The Compass,” provided answers to its questionnaire by Fraley and Hawkins Sunday. The other two candidates’ answers will be printed next Sunday.  For ease of reading, here are the questions that were posed:

1. Why should people vote for you?
2. List your top three priorities and how you would achieve them.
3. What should the city do to support the school division as it copes with less state aid, staff downsizing and student achievement gaps?
4. What is your long-term strategy for how the city should cope with lower property values, lower revenues and possible military downsizing? Give specifics.
5. Should the city take additional steps to ensure financial accountability and open, transparent decision-making? Why or why not?
6. What should the city’s capital spending priority be at a time of austerity – aging schools, planned courthouse, downtown library?