Local elections for 12 seats across the Fairbanks North Star Borough, City of Fairbanks and City of North Pole are over. All told, the 20 candidates in those races reported spending a total of about $300,000 this campaign season.
That’s according to disclosure reports they filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission in the week leading up to election day.
But did the cash pay off in wins? Not exactly. Here’s an overview.
Top spenders won only half their races
Some seats were uncontested this election cycle. That included Crystal Tidwell’s bid for reelection to the Fairbanks City Council, and the four-person race for four North Pole City Council seats.
Many candidates also filed forms to exempt them from reporting on campaign finances. People running for the municipal offices can do that if they do not intend to raise more than $5,000. Both Sue Sprinkle and Hannah Ekalook filed those forms, and they were the only two candidates in the race for the other available Fairbanks City Council seat.
That means, among the 12 seats up for grabs, there were only six contested local races this year where at least one candidate reported campaign expenses.
Of those six, the top spenders won in just half.
Voters reelected Brett Rotermund to the Borough Assembly, and he far outspent write-in challenger Allegory Smith, who reported no income or expenditures.
Audra Hull’s election to the Borough School Board and Garret Armstrong’s victory in the three-person race for Borough Assembly Seat C mark the other contests where spending matched up with winning.
On the flip side, in the other half of those races, candidates who outspent their opponents lost. In all three, the losing candidates were also the incumbents.
Voters elected Mindy O’Neall over David Pruhs for City of Fairbanks Mayor. Patrick Roach beat Barbara Haney in the race for Borough Assembly Seat I. And Melissa Burnett came up short against Naomi Hewitt for reelection to the Borough School Board.
Here are reported expenditures broken down seat-by-seat (winners marked by an asterisk).
Fairbanks Mayor
-Mindy O’Neall: $35,824 ($9,000 in campaign debts)*
-David Pruhs: $59,689
Fairbanks City Council
Seat C
-Sue Sprinkle: Filed for exemption*
-Hannah Ekalook: Filed for exemption
Seat D
-Crystal Tidwell: $5,116*
FNSB Assembly
Seat B
-Brett Rotermund: $24,360*
-Allegory Smith (write-in): Filed for exemption
Seat C
-Jeanne Olson: Filed for exemption
-Garrett Armstrong: $25,315*
-J.T. McComas-Roe: $12,422
Seat I
-Patrick Roach: $34,462*
-Barbara Haney: $42,903
FNSB School Board
Seat C
-Sam Spencer: $6,724 ($4,950 in campaign debts)
-Audra Hull: $19,454*
Seat D
-Naomi Hewitt: $11,073*
-Melissa Burnett: $16,414
North Pole City Council (four open seats)
-David Skipps: Filed for exemption
-Jordan Schuster: Filed for exemption
-Sandra Rolfe: Filed for exemption
-David Brandt: Filed for exemption