Four Cedar Rapids council candidates hit 5 figures in fundraising

CEDAR RAPIDS — Four City Council candidates, including the three incumbents, have raised more than $10,000 each in campaign contributions leading up to Tuesday's election, while three of the four other candidates have not raised or spent enough to file a finance report with the state.

The threshold required to file a report with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board is $1,000 in contributions or spending. Campaigns had to submit reports by Thursday.

The two Cedar Rapids incumbents competing in a field of five candidates for two at-large council seats have raised the most money.

First-term incumbent Susie Weinacht, who was elected in 2013, reported $24,833 in campaign contributions, while first-term incumbent Ann Poe, who was elected in 2011, has raised $21,310.

The two are running against each other and challengers Carletta Knox-Seymour, Wade Wagner and Bridgett Wood.

In the west-side District 4 council race, first-term incumbent Scott Olson, who was elected in 2011, raised $11,050 against challenger Lisa Kuzela.

Kuzela's finance report arrived at the state campaign finance office seven minutes after the late Thursday afternoon deadline, Megan Tooker, the office's executive director, said Friday.

The report, which Kuzela provided to The Gazette on Friday, shows $2,042 in campaign contributions.

"I am very proud to say that all my donations are 'organic'--  from regular folk who want to see representation on the Cedar Rapids council,' Kuzela said. The donations are not from 'special interest groups,' she said.

Scott Overland, who is running unopposed in the east-side District 2 where incumbent Monica Vernon is not seeking re-election, raised $11,975, anticipating an opponent who never appeared.

Both Weinacht and Poe have secured notable contributions from labor organizations, and Olson also has gotten labor help.

Weinacht, who has been part-time manager for RWDSU-UFCW Local 110 in recent years, garnered $12,500 from six labor groups, which is 50.3 percent of her money raised. Poe received $9,500 from four labor groups, or 44.6 percent of her total contributions, while Olson received $3,250, or 29.4 percent of his contributions from three labor groups.

Olson, who lost a close race for mayor in 2005 to labor-supported Kay Halloran, said labor is contributing to his campaign now because labor is happy with the city's direction.

'They feel that the efforts that the City Council is making to invest in infrastructure has helped to create a robust local economy,' Olson said. 'That has had a dramatic impact on jobs.'

In one comparison, 75.9 percent of Weinacht's contributions came from those who gave $200 or more, compared to 73.9 percent of Poe's contributions, 68.8 percent of Olson's and 50.1 percent of Overland's.

At-large candidate Carletta Knox-Seymour, who ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2013 and who is a member of the City Planning Commission, said she is campaigning 'the old-fashion way,' depending on the 'foot soldiers' of her campaign to help her drum up support. 'Without fear, without being frantic, I'm just moving my army down the path,' she said.

At-large candidate Wade Wagner said he wasn't that 'comfortable' raising campaign money in this race. He said he hopes he still has name recognition from his four years as parks commissioner and his years as a KGAN television reporter before that.

'That doesn't mean I'm not interested and passionate about what I want to do on the council,' Wagner said about not raising campaign money. 'It just reflects my priorities.'

The Tuesday election also asks voters to approve or reject a tax levy of 27 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value to help pay to operate the city's downtown library and its west-side branch library. In a campaign report to the state earlier this month, the Our Library, Our Community campaign reported raising $95,750 to promote the levy.