Little Money Raised, Spent for Unopposed Candidates

Although there were a few uncontested races in Lakewood on Nov. 8, that didn’t stop some candidates from raising some cash in 2011.

Three candidates ran unopposed.

• Ward 2 councilman Tom Bullock raised the most money of the unopposed candidates, hauling in $2,430 in 2011. He spent $797 —most on fundraising events — according to the pre- and post-election reports.
• Ward 3 councilman Shawn Juris filed a post-election report, but didn’t raise or spend any money in 2011. 
• Ward 4 councilwoman Mary Louise Madigan carried over $3,177 from her last report, but didn’t raise any money in 2011. Her campaign spent $299 — including costs for reimbursement and a few donations.

Candidates’ campaign finance reports — set to be finalized and posted online once audited — were due last Friday and released to Lakewood Patch on Wednesday.

Officials from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections said the post-election campaign finance reports cover the time period between Oct. 19 and Dec. 9. The pre-election reports — tracking campaign finances before Oct. 19 — were due Oct. 27, according to the board of elections.

Candidates aren’t required to file a pre-election report if they do not spend or raise more than $1,000, said election officials. 

Running unopposed for his first full term, Mayor Michael Summers raised a total of $200 from two donors in 2011.

The Friends of Mayor Summers, the political action committee raising money for the re-election campaign reported that the mayor carried over $2,836 from 2010.

He spent $2,322 on his campaign website, leaving him with $714.