Four of six Linn supervisor primary candidates raise money

CEDAR RAPIDS - Four of six candidates competing in the June 3 primary for a seat on the Linn County Board of Supervisors have raised sufficient funds to file campaign spending reports with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Candidates who raise more than $750 in contributions or spend more than $750 on a campaign must file a report.

In the Democratic primary for the District 1 supervisor seat, candidate Kim Taylor has raised the most in contributions, $11,476.

Of her contributions, Taylor, 46, who is senior constituent advocate in Sen. Tom Harkin's Cedar Rapids office and the wife of state Rep. Todd Taylor, has taken in $9,300 from labor unions.

Also in the District 1 Democratic primary, Andrea Jackson has raised $6,115, including $1,000 from herself, while Jim Houser has raised $1,355 and has loaned his campaign $2,941.

Jackson, 45, is a Regis Middle School teacher, and Houser, 60, is a former longtime Linn supervisor and a Realtor and sheet-metal worker.

A fourth Democratic candidate, former Robins Mayor Ian Cullis, 65, has not filed a report.

In the District 5 Republican primary, incumbent John Harris has raised $6,000 in new contributions to go with cash on hand of $3,656 from earlier fundraising efforts.

Harris, 60, is a former mayor and City Council member in Palo and a retired manager at Rockwell Collins.

He is being challenged by Mark Banowetz, 56, a small-business owner and former City Council member in Ely. Banowetz did not file a campaign-spending report with the state disclosure board.

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