Pat Heiden outspends incumbents in primary for Johnson County supervisor

IOWA CITY - Johnson County Board of Supervisors candidate Pat Heiden far outraised and outspent her incumbent counterparts in the months leading up the June 5 primary, according to the latest campaign financial disclosure reports.

Heiden's campaign spent $26,259 in the Jan. 1 to May 14 disclosure period. Incumbent Janelle Rettig's campaign spent the second most, at $4,211, and the least spent was from incumbent Mike Carberry's campaign, $1,457.

All the candidates started off the period with no more than $1,500 cash on hand. Heiden reported raising about $26,100, but she also was the only of the three to loan herself money - $5,000 this period. Rettig reported raising $8,061 and Carberry $9,912 during the period.

'I'm just really humbled by all of it,” Heiden said of her donors. 'Being out in the last year, talking with people, making connections, they're ready for a change. I take it very seriously that they believe in me and my message.”

Two seats on the board are up for grabs this November. But with the only three candidates so far being Democrats, the primary will likely determine the outcome.

Many of Heiden's campaign contributions came from individuals. And much of the money was spent on marketing and social media consulting services as well as printing, postage and advertising.

'It takes money to run a campaign and get things purchased that you need to get purchased so that your message can be out there, but again we tried to be very, very thoughtful as we made those decisions,” Heiden said.

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