There are 19 candidates running for 12 available seats in municipal elections within the Fairbanks North Star Borough this year, and collectively, they’ve raised almost $290,000 for their campaigns.
That’s according to reports candidates had to file earlier this month with the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). The filings cover campaign finances as of Sept. 5.
Here are the three races in the Fairbanks area raking in the most money.
1. City of Fairbanks Mayor
First up, the City of Fairbanks mayoral election is attracting more money from donors than any other race so far — and by quite a bit. Incumbent Mayor David Pruhs has a significant fundraising advantage compared to all other candidates in this year’s elections, in fact.
Pruhs’ campaign has raised more than $66,000, according to the APOC reports. The next closest candidate is his challenger, Mindy O’Neall, who’s brought in more than $37,000 in donations.
At $3,000, Pruhs’ largest contribution came from the Republican Women of Fairbanks, which gave the same amount to some other conservative candidates in this year’s elections. Local author John Foley has given the biggest single donation to the O’Neall campaign at $5,000.
2. FNSB Assembly Seat I
Next in line is Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Seat I. Patrick Roach is running against incumbent Barbara Haney for that seat, a contest that’s proved to be the second most well-funded race so far this year.
Haney has the fundraising edge, according to the reports, with roughly $36,000 to Roach’s $30,000. The Republican Women of Fairbanks have made the largest single donation to Haney’s campaign, as well, also in the amount of $3,000. The biggest single contribution to Roach’s campaign is $2,000, which came from Ellen Bagley, of Sitka.
3. FNSB Assembly Seat B
From there, fundraising gets a lot more even, race to race. Three of the other, contested races this year have drawn about $27,000 apiece. But the uncontested race for Borough Assembly Seat B has attracted slightly more financial support at this stage than any of those.
Incumbent Brett Rotermund has raised a little under $29,000, meaning his campaign – though unchallenged – makes that race the third most well-funded thus far. Rotermund’s largest donor is himself, at $5,000. Will Hutto originally filed to challenge for Rotermund’s seat this year, but he dropped before the withdrawal deadline last month and will not appear on the ballot.
Exemptions
Seven of the 19 candidates in this year’s municipal elections have not reported any campaign income, including all four candidates for North Pole City Council. That’s because they filed for exemptions to the campaign finance reporting requirements, which APOC permits when municipal candidates do not intend to raise more than $5,000 total.
Still, there's plenty of money circulating outside the top three. Here’s campaign income reported in all of the races, broken down by candidate.
City of Fairbanks Mayor
David Pruhs - $66,495
Mindy O’Neall - $37,576
Fairbanks City Council Seat C
Sue Sprinkle - $0
Hannah Ekalook - $0
Fairbanks City Council Seat D
Crystal Tidwell - $6,750
North Pole City Council (four seats available)
Sandra Rolfe - $0
Jordan Schuster - $0
David Skipps - $0
David Brandt - $0
Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Seat C
Garrett Armstrong - $16,480
Jeanne Olson - $0
J.T. McComas-Roe - $11,001
Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Seat B
Brett Rotermund - $28,688
Fairbanks North Star Assembly Seat I
Barbara Haney - $36,266
Patrick Roach - $30,278
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Board of Education Seat C
Chemetria “Sam” Spencer - $7,260
Audra Hull - $20,069
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Board of Education Seat D
Melissa Burnett - $17,445
Naomi Hewitt - $10,137